Kolkata’s AC local trains will make additional stops at five suburban stations from 1 October, expanding access on Sealdah–Ranaghat and Sealdah–Bongaon–Ranaghat services during the festive travel season. The Sealdah Division has also extended the trial period for some existing stops until 30 November.
The Sealdah–Ranaghat AC local will stop at Halisahar and Shimurali, where the railway had earlier introduced trial halts. The trial period for these stops has now been extended. The same route will also include Ichhapur among its additional stops, according to the division’s notification reported by Sangbad Pratidin.
On the up service, the AC local is scheduled to reach Ichhapur at 7.32 pm, Halisahar at 7.54 pm and Shimurali at 8.12 pm. On the following morning, the down train will stop at Shimurali at 8.45 am, Halisahar at 9.02 am and Ichhapur at 9.23 am.
Additional stops have also been announced for the AC local operating between Sealdah, Bongaon and Ranaghat. The up train will leave Sealdah at 6.14 pm and stop at Bamangachhi at 7.02 pm and Gopalnagar at 8.19 pm before reaching Ranaghat at 8.43 pm.
The return down service will reach Gopalnagar at 7.34 am and Bamangachhi at 8.43 am before arriving at Sealdah at 9.38 am the following morning. The revised stopping pattern is scheduled to come into effect from 1 October.
The changes extend AC local access to more stations along routes connecting Kolkata’s main suburban rail hub with North 24 Parganas and Nadia. For passengers living beyond the existing stopping points, the added halts could reduce the need to change trains or use road transport to reach an AC local station. The announcement comes ahead of the Puja season, when passenger movement typically increases across the suburban network.
Rajiv Saxena, Divisional Railway Manager of Sealdah, said the additional stops were introduced to provide greater convenience to passengers travelling on suburban routes. “The aim is to enable a larger number of passengers to use AC train services in their daily journeys,” he said, according to the report.
The railway’s notification makes the additional stops a scheduled operational change rather than a permanent route restructuring. The extended trial period for selected stops will run until 30 November, after which the railway’s decision on their continuation will determine whether the revised access becomes a longer-term feature of these AC local services.
