In a major relief for commuters, three platforms at Sealdah station are being used to run 12-coach local EMU trains. The remaining two platforms are also being targeted for handling 12-coach local trains in a few days. Notably, due to shorter platform lengths, only 9- coach trains could operate from platforms one to five at Sealdah. Because of this, not all trains on the Sealdah Main and North sections, that is Sealdah-Ranaghat-Krishnanagar and Sealdah-Bangaon sections, were able to operate with 12 coaches.

For this, the length of several platforms of the Sealdah Main Section needed to be increased. However, platforms six and seven were already accommodating 12-coach trains, leading to passenger dissatisfaction due to the unequal service levels. To address the issue, the divisional railway undertook the extension works of the five platforms to enable them to handle 12-coach trains. The extension work of platforms one, two and five have been done and 12-coach EMU trains are being operated from these platforms from yesterday. According to the Eastern Railway, the extension of platforms 3 and 4 is also nearing completion and they would soon be able to handle 12- coach operations.

Advertisement

Eastern Railway operates approximately 892 local trains daily in the Sealdah Division.With the introduction of 12-coach trains, each train can now carry approximately 1,000 additional passengers compared to the 9-coach trains. As reiterated by the divisional railway, the extension with increased seating capacity of approximately 25 per cent more than the 9-coach trains would alleviate congestion, particularly during peak hours, making travel more comfortable and efficient for passengers.

Also, the increased train length will facilitate easier boarding and deboarding, especially at key stations like Bidhannagar and Dum Dum, which previously experienced high passenger congestion. In addition, passengers traveling to and from various destinations such as Barasat, Barrackpore, Shantipur, Naihati, Shyamnagar, Bongaon, Dankuni, Sodepur, and Khardah would benefit from the upgradation.