Eastern Railway will run 51 special trains on the Sealdah suburban network from Shashthi on October 16 to Dashami on October 21 to manage the heavy passenger movement expected during Durga Puja, including overnight services and additional crowd-monitoring arrangements at major stations.
According to the railway, 38 of the special trains will operate at night, while 13 additional services will run during the evening peak. The number is higher than last year, when 31 special trains were operated on the Sealdah network. Railway authorities are also preparing a 24-hour control room to monitor station crowds through closed-circuit cameras.
The arrangements will begin before the main festival period. From October 10, Mahalaya, to October 15, Panchami, pre-Puja special trains will operate on the Lalgola route. During the Puja days, all suburban MEMU trains will stop at every station after 2 pm, according to the announcement.
Eastern Railway will also operate 80 special long-distance trains between October 10 and October 25. Last year, 50 special long-distance trains were run during the corresponding period. At key stations, the railway is arranging additional rakes, medical booths and help desks to support passengers and respond to emergencies.
Passenger facilities are also being expanded at Sealdah, Dum Dum and Ballygunge, where additional toilet blocks have been created. Temporary booking and exit counters will be opened at Ranaghat, while a new ticket counter has been introduced at Barrackpore to reduce pressure on ticket queues.
Four special EMU trains will operate between Sealdah, Ranaghat and Lalgola from October 10 to October 15. The railway has also increased the daily service between Shantipur and Krishnanagar City Junction via Dignagar Halt from one pair to two pairs. The additional morning up train will leave Shantipur at 9:34 am and reach Krishnanagar City Junction at 10:07 am. The return down service will depart Krishnanagar at 10:17 am and arrive at Shantipur at 10:43 am.
On the Sealdah-Budge Budge route, an overnight train has been introduced on a trial basis. The down service will leave Sealdah at 10:55 pm and reach Budge Budge at 11:43 pm, while the return up train will depart Budge Budge at 11:54 pm and arrive at Sealdah at 12:48 am.
Four air-conditioned EMU locals will also receive trial halts at Badkulla station on the Sealdah-Krishnanagar City Junction route. Except on Sundays, the up train will stop at Badkulla at 11:53 am and the down train at 1:40 pm. On Sundays, the trains will halt at around 2 pm and 4:15 pm respectively.
Sealdah Division Divisional Railway Manager Rajib Saxena said the railway’s priority was to ensure safe and convenient travel for passengers and visitors during West Bengal’s largest festival. He said overnight services, 24-hour monitoring and enhanced facilities at important stations were being used to strengthen operations during the festival period.
