Sealdah division will run 38 overnight local trains during Durga Puja to help late-night pandal-hoppers and manage the sharp rise in passenger movement across its main, north and south sections, railway officials announced on Wednesday.
The division has also planned additional suburban and long-distance services, along with measures intended to speed up ticketing and passenger movement during the festival. The announcements were made by Rajeev Saxena, Sealdah divisional railway manager, at a news conference.
The scale of the challenge is reflected in last year’s passenger numbers. At least 50 lakh passengers travelled through Sealdah during Durga Puja, according to railway officials. Passenger footfall reached 21 lakh on Saptami, making it the busiest day recorded in the figures cited by the division.
The overnight local trains are intended to support passengers travelling late at night after visiting pandals across the city and surrounding areas. Their deployment will cover the Sealdah division’s main, north and south sections, although the railway announcement cited in the report did not provide a route-wise breakdown of the services.
For Kolkata’s suburban railway network, the festival period creates a concentrated demand challenge. Large numbers of passengers travel within a narrow window, with movement continuing well beyond normal daytime commuting hours. The division’s decision to add overnight services addresses that extended operating period while its other announced measures focus on ticketing and the movement of passengers through the station system.
The planned services will operate alongside the division’s regular suburban network and the additional long-distance trains announced for the festive period. Railway officials did not provide in the cited announcement the exact number of extra suburban or long-distance services, their operating dates, or detailed timetables.
The passenger figures also show why Sealdah’s Puja arrangements extend beyond crowd management at individual stations. A daily footfall of 21 lakh on Saptami places pressure on train capacity, ticket counters and the movement of passengers through platforms and station approaches. The division’s stated response combines more train services with efforts to reduce delays in ticketing and passenger circulation.
The 38 overnight local trains are the clearest operational measure announced so far. Their effectiveness will depend on the final timetable, route coverage and the way passenger flows are managed at stations, but those details were not included in the announcement reported by The Telegraph.
The Sealdah division is expected to provide the service schedules and further operational details as part of its preparations for the festival rush. Until then, the announcement establishes the scale of the planned intervention but not the full timetable or station-level arrangements.
