Railways to increase number of local trains in Kolkata
Synopsis
In a meeting held with the officials of the state government, Eastern Railways and South-Eastern Railways on Thursday (November 12), the railway authorities has decided to increase the number of local trains during office hours in Kolkata.
Kolkata: The Railways has decided to increase the number of local trains in Howrah and Sealdah divisions.
A meeting was held with the officials of the state government, Eastern Railways and South-Eastern Railways on Thursday (November 12) where the railway authorities agreed with the state government’s proposal to increase the number of local trains during office hours.
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Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay and Home Secretary Hari Krishna Dwivedi were present in the meeting.
After the meeting, Alapan Bandyopadhyay said, “It was 30 lakh passengers daily before the pandemic began. On Wednesday (November 11), the number was 10 lakhs. This, however, is still a substantial number and the security personnel had a tough task in maintaining COVID protocol on the trains.”
The railways have appealed to the people to strictly follow Covid-19 protocols.
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The Eastern Railway (ER) also urged all commuters to follow guidelines strictly, such as using hand sanitisers, wearing masks and maintaining physical distancing norms while travelling on local trains.
A senior Railways official said, “On Wednesday (November 11), 75 percent of the total number of the trains ran. But after seeing the crowds, we decided to increase it to 100 percent from Friday (November 13). We are hoping that the crowd management will be better now.”
