During festivals, many train travelers in Pune are concerned about the chaos caused by the addition of general second class coaches, which hinders a comfortable journey. Arun Kumar Mishra, a senior citizen, shared his experience of facing overcrowding in the sleeper class compartment during a trip from Pune to Darbhanga in Bihar. Despite holding a confirmed ticket, Mishra found the compartment taken over by ticketless or general ticket holders. Mishra narrated an incident where passengers locked themselves in the toilet, causing inconvenience to others. Despite reporting the issue to the Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) at Daund, Mishra was disappointed to see fines collected from the violators instead of enforcement action. Ultimately, with the intervention of Rail Madad, the unauthorized passengers were removed at Ahmednagar. Concerns have been raised by reserved ticket holders about the possibility of their berths being occupied by those with general tickets or without tickets, especially with the announcement of special trains for the festive season by the Pune rail division. Public Relations Officer Ram Paul Barpagga stated that the number of general second class coaches is being increased in upcoming trains to accommodate more passengers. To address these challenges, ticket checking staff, officers, inspectors, and Railway Protection Force (RPF) have been deployed to manage the rush and conduct thorough checks on passengers. Unauthorized entry into compartments by some passengers has unfortunately become a common issue, as reported by several travelers."I was recently on the Sinhagad Express in a reserved compartment and came across several passengers without tickets. One of them pretended to be a railway employee and took a seat. Rajesh Doshi, a Pune resident and regular train traveler, expressed his concern about the lack of proper handling of this issue. Sagar Jadhav, who traveled on the Ahmedabad-Pune Duronto Express last week, shared a similar experience, mentioning that although he had a reserved seat in coach DL1, the coach was overcrowded with people including some sitting on the floor.

The problem of overcrowding is not limited to trains but also extends to platforms. In response to this, Pune rail division officials announced plans to establish temporary waiting sheds on the premises for passengers to improve crowd management and prevent congestion on platforms. Passengers have complained about inadequate seating, limited water facilities, and the absence of proper waiting areas at the station. This overcrowding on platforms poses a serious risk of potential stampedes due to the highly congested conditions."