Before and after: How two of India’s busiest railway stations look today

How does Howrah and Sealdah, two of the most crowded stations in India, look like with the pandemic bringing a bulk of the daily trains to a halt over the past few months. We visited the two stations to check out.

Updated: August 29, 2020 10:28:05 pm
Howrah station before and after pandemic, Sealdah station before and after pandemic, Howrah station before coronavirus, Howrah station after coronavirus, Sealdah station before coronavirus, Sealdah station after coronavirus, indian expressThe unusually crowded platforms have now turned deserted with limited number of trains operating to and from the station. (Express Photos by Shashi Ghosh)

The busy Howrah station witnesses a deserted look

Howrah station before and after pandemic, Sealdah station before and after pandemic, Howrah station before coronavirus, Howrah station after coronavirus, Sealdah station before coronavirus, Sealdah station after coronavirus, indian express The unusually crowded platforms (picture above) too have turned deserted (picture below) with limited number of trains operating to and from and the station. (Express Photos: Shashi Ghosh) Howrah station before and after pandemic, Sealdah station before and after pandemic, Howrah station before coronavirus, Howrah station after coronavirus, Sealdah station before coronavirus, Sealdah station after coronavirus, indian express Before pandemic (picture above), the iconic Howrah Bridge, which connects Howrah with Kolkata, used to be jam-packed with public and private vehicles, with office hours witnessing extremely heavy traffic. With government discouraging non-essential travel and occasional lockdowns in West Bengal to check the spread of Covid-19, the bridge remains unusually empty (picture below). (Express Photos: Shashi Ghosh) Howrah station before and after pandemic, Sealdah station before and after pandemic, Howrah station before coronavirus, Howrah station after coronavirus, Sealdah station before coronavirus, Sealdah station after coronavirus, indian express The Howrah station corridors used to have many people waiting for their trains (picture above). With passenger count dropping drastically, mostly railway staff and Railway Police Force (RPF) personnel in PPE kit and face masks can be spotted there now. (picture below). (Express Photo: Shashi Ghosh) Howrah station before and after pandemic, Sealdah station before and after pandemic, Howrah station before coronavirus, Howrah station after coronavirus, Sealdah station before coronavirus, Sealdah station after coronavirus, indian express Howrah Station, which is one of the busiest railway junctions in India in terms of passenger footfall, used to witness crowd and traffic jams at its entrance before the pandemic situation (picture above). Now, (picture below), due to the pandemic, it wears a deserted look with a drastic drop in number of train services and passengers. (Express Photos: Shashi Ghosh)

Sealdah station: Before and after

Howrah station before and after pandemic, Sealdah station before and after pandemic, Howrah station before coronavirus, Howrah station after coronavirus, Sealdah station before coronavirus, Sealdah station after coronavirus, indian express Sealdah Station, which is the other busy station (picture above) widely used by people to commute to and from Kolkata, also bears a deserted look due to the pandemic situation. With people cutting down on their travels, the station remains almost empty (picture below). (Express Photos: Shashi Ghosh) Howrah station before and after pandemic, Sealdah station before and after pandemic, Howrah station before coronavirus, Howrah station after coronavirus, Sealdah station before coronavirus, Sealdah station after coronavirus, indian express There is no queue at the ticket counters of the Sealdah station (picture below). (Express photos: Shashi Ghosh) Howrah station before and after pandemic, Sealdah station before and after pandemic, Howrah station before coronavirus, Howrah station after coronavirus, Sealdah station before coronavirus, Sealdah station after coronavirus, indian express Only railway staff can be spotted (picture above) on the corridors and platforms of the Sealdah Station, unlike before (picture below). (Express Photos: Shashi Ghosh) Howrah station before and after pandemic, Sealdah station before and after pandemic, Howrah station before coronavirus, Howrah station after coronavirus, Sealdah station before coronavirus, Sealdah station after coronavirus, indian express The crowded trains (picture above), which would have been mostly overloaded with passengers, now have to deal with little to no commuters. (picture below). (Express Photos: Shashi Ghosh)