Agent Based Modelling and Simulation to estimate movement time of pilgrims from one place to another at Allahabad Jn. Railway Station during Kumbh Mela-2019

Kumbh Mela festival of India is one of the largest mass gathering event of huge religious importance all over the world. Large gatherings in these kind of religious events require rigorous monitoring and attention. Successful organization of such events requires synchronization among officials of different public departments such as police, health, security, communication, railways etc. The railway department plays a significant role in handling huge surge of passengers and their transportation during such events. Every 12-years Kumbh Mela is organized in the city of Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) in northern India. The Allahabad Jn. railway station experiences huge inflow and outflow of pilgrims during Kumbh Mela. The railway authorities deploy predefined crowd movement strategies and boarding procedures for smooth transportation of pilgrims. However, these strategies are outlined based on previous experiences and ground knowledge of stakeholders. The strategies followed by railway authorities are needed to be evaluated and tested for realistic assessment and possible refinement before actual deployment. Our model is able to capture and simulate the real time behaviour of entities such as pilgrims and trains by programming them as synthetic agents. This model is helpful in analyzing the time taken by a group of pilgrims to move from a designated place to their target platform and board the train. The consumed time is calculated by simulating different movement and boarding procedures including the actual plans followed by the railway authorities. In this way it is possible to assess the efficiency of their movement plans and reasons about possible refinement.