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Bengal: Local train services to resume service from November 11
Massive protests have been going on at various stations across the state for resumption of the local train services over the past few days. Initially, 181 pairs of local trains would be operated.
Local train services in West Bengal will resume from November 11 after a gap of more than seven months, top officials of the state government said.
“Railways will resume suburban services in West Bengal from November 11. With adequate safety measures in place, this will facilitate smooth travel for people,” railway minister Piyush Goyal tweeted on Thursday evening.
Massive protests have been going on at various stations across the state for resumption of the local train services over the past few days. Commuters have been blocking railway tracks; in some places, security personnel had to resort to lathi charge to disperse angry passengers who tried to forcefully enter stations.
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“As of now, it has been decided that 181 pairs of local trains would be operated. While 114 pairs would run in the Sealdah division, 50 pairs would run in the Howrah division. In the Kharagpur division, 17 pairs would be operated,” said a senior state government official after a meeting with railway officials on Thursday.
Local suburban trains connect Kolkata and Howrah with the villages and towns of the adjoining districts and form a major lifeline for the people coming to Kolkata for work every day. Howrah and Sealdah stations cater to more than two million passengers every day.
“The railways would be coming up with a standard operating procedure by coming Monday (November 9) on how the trains would be operated from Wednesday. Around 600 passengers, which is around half of the seating capacity, would be allowed in one train. The SoP would try to strike a balance between the number of trains that would run during office-hours and those during the non-peak hours,” said a senior official.
It was on March 22 that the local trains had last operated. While the Kolkata Metro and flight services have already resumed, the railways was running only some special trains for their railway staff to join duty.
