A passenger protest over an alleged 16-hour delay to the Kanyakumari-Kamakhya Dibrugarh Vivek Express disrupted train services on the Howrah-Bardhaman chord line in West Bengal on October 16, with protesters briefly stopping the Howrah-Gaya Vande Bharat Express at Kamarkundu station in Hooghly district.
According to a report by Sangbad Pratidin – Bengal, passengers of the Vivek Express came down onto the tracks after their train was held at a signal at Kamarkundu. The passengers were reportedly angry that the train, already running about 16 hours late, had been stopped while another service was allowed to pass.
The Vivek Express was scheduled to reach the route at around 2.30pm on October 15, but was still running substantially behind schedule the following morning, the report said. The train operates through Dankuni and the Howrah-Bardhaman chord line on its route between Kanyakumari and Kamakhya.
The disruption began after the train was allegedly stopped at a signal at Kamarkundu. Passengers were informed that the Up Howrah-Gaya Vande Bharat Express would be allowed through the section. They then started protesting on the tracks, preventing the Vande Bharat from proceeding.
The Vande Bharat remained stopped for more than 30 minutes, while other long-distance services on the route were also affected. The incident caused prolonged disruption to train operations on the Howrah-Bardhaman chord line, according to the report.
Railway police reached the station to clear the protest and speak to the passengers. The report said the presence of the police initially intensified the passengers’ anger, as they questioned why their delayed train had been held again to give passage to another service. Railway personnel eventually succeeded in persuading the protesters to withdraw the blockade.
The report said there were no injuries among passengers travelling on the Vande Bharat Express. It also stated that train services on the section returned to normal after the protest was removed.
The incident highlights the immediate operational consequences of severe delays on a busy railway corridor, where decisions to regulate train movements can affect multiple services. In this case, a delay affecting one long-distance train led to a track protest and the temporary detention of another premium service, with further knock-on effects for other passengers.
The railway authorities’ detailed explanation for the Vivek Express delay, the signal stoppage and the sequence in which trains were prioritised was not included in the supplied report. The next operational update will determine whether any formal explanation or action follows from the disruption at Kamarkundu.
