Kolkata, March 11 -- Sealdah Division of Eastern Railway will introduce and extend eight EMU services on the Sealdah-Gede and Gede-Majherhat sections from March 16 on an experimental basis to improve suburban connectivity and reduce waiting time between trains.
Railway officials said the move follows long-standing demands from daily passengers, including students and office-goers of those sections, for better connectivity and more direct travel options.
Two existing services will be extended up to Gede. The 31227 Sealdah-Barrackpore local will run as 31931 Sealdah-Gede Special, leaving Sealdah at 9:28 am and reaching Gede at 12:07 pm. The corresponding 31226 service will originate from Gede at 8:26 am as 31930 Gede-Sealdah Special and reach Sealdah at 10:57 am.
The 31431 Sealdah-Naihati local will also be extended up to Gede as 31933 Sealdah-Gede Special, departing Sealdah at 4:50 pm and reaching Gede at 7:38 pm. A direct Gede-Majherhat service will be introduced by merging the existing Gede-Ranaghat and Naihati-Majherhat services. The new 30144 Gede-Majherhat Special will leave Gede at 4:15 pm and reach Majherhat at 7:28 pm.
To manage evening peak-hour traffic, the 31333 Sealdah-Kalyani Simanta local will depart Sealdah at 4:30 pm instead of 4:50 pm.
Three new special services will also run between Gede and Ranaghat to reduce waiting time between trains. The 31761 Ranaghat-Gede EMU Special will leave Ranaghat at 7:05 am and reach Gede at 7:57 am. The return service, 31762, will depart Gede at 1 pm and arrive at Ranaghat at 1:55 pm, while the 31764 Gede-Ranaghat EMU Special will leave Gede at 8:25 pm and reach Ranaghat at 9:21 pm.
Railway officials said the services will run on an experimental basis and passenger patronage will be monitored to assess future continuation or changes. Passengers have been advised to check station notice boards and official digital platforms for the revised schedule.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.