West Bengal government and Indian Railways on Monday agreed to resume local train services on the Eastern Railways and South Eastern Railways. To begin with, only 10 to 15% trains will operate with 50 % seating capacity. The frequency could be increased to 25% after Deepavali.
“We will meet again on November 5 to finalise the calendar and route,” Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said.
He said that 600 passengers would be allowed on local trains which have a seating capacity of 1,200 each. The State government is not in favour of e-passes as a measure to control crowds, an arrangement that has been implemented at Kolkata Metro. The State government said that such an attempt will be “exclusionary” and will be a disadvantage to those who do not have access to smart phones or internet.
Before the lockdown more than 10 lakh passengers used to travel on the local and suburban train services at Howrah and Sealdah stations of the Eastern Railways.
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