51 special trains to run from October 16 to 21
According to the plan of Eastern Railway, a total of 51 special trains will be run in the Sealdah division between October 16 and 21. Last year, this number was 31. This means that this time, keeping in mind the extra crowd during Puja, the number of special trains has been significantly increased.
Out of these 51 special trains, 38 trains will run as overnight EMUs in the Main, North and South sections. These trains can be one of the most reliable trains for passengers while returning home after the night Puja Parikrama.
Not only night services, 13 special trains will also be run to handle the evening crowd. As a result, the railways plan that it will be possible to share the pressure of passengers who go out to see Thakur after office holidays or in the evening.
There will be special services for passengers even before the main day of Puja starts. It has been decided to run a pre-Puja special on the Sealdah-Lalgola section from October 10 to 15. Four special EMU trains will run at this stage. As a result, additional rail services will also be available for passengers who come to Kolkata in advance for shopping or in the days before Puja.
Important changes have also been made in train standing to handle the Puja crowd. All suburban MEMU and EMU trains will stop at all stations after 2 pm on Puja days.
That is, there will be no galloping local services from that time. According to railway sources, this measure is aimed at increasing the number of trains and increasing the number of passengers by stopping at more stations.
Not only increasing the number of trains, but also keeping in mind the large number of passengers, several measures are being taken at Sealdah station. Arrangements have been made to use Prafulla Dwar, North, Main, Central and South gates specifically for the entry and exit of passengers.
A special 24-hour war room will be operational to monitor the situation at the station. The entire situation will be monitored through a CCTV network.
Additional preparations are also being made at important stations. Standby train rakes, reserve loco crews, medical booths, help desks and mobile maintenance teams will be ready. This measure is aimed at normalizing services quickly in case of any emergency. Additional toilet blocks have also been made at Sealdah, Ballygunge and Dumdum stations for the convenience of passengers.
Eastern Railway's Sealdah Division DRM Rajiv Saxena said that Durga Puja is the biggest festival in Bengal. Therefore, ensuring safe and smooth travel of passengers during the festival is one of the main goals of the railways.
According to the railway authorities, keeping in mind the rush of the Puja, not only additional trains, but also station management, security, medical services and emergency maintenance have been prepared in all aspects.
This time the main days of Durga Puja are from 16 to 21 October. Mahasashthi is on 16 October and Vijaya Dashami is on 21 October. As a result, this special arrangement of the Sealdah division is keeping in mind that the passenger pressure in Kolkata and suburban rail services will increase during these few days.
Eastern Railway has made major preparations for passenger services in the Sealdah division during Puja this time, including overnight local trains, additional special EMUs and additional infrastructure at important stations.