Kolkata: Train services under the South Eastern Railway (SER) will be affected for nearly a month, from October 23 to November 24, as the authorities undertake yard remodelling and signalling upgradation works at Shalimar to improve operational efficiency and passenger safety.
During this period, pre-non-interlocking and non-interlocking works will be carried out, resulting in the cancellation, short termination and short origination of several long-distance and a few local trains.
According to South Eastern Railway officials, 22 pairs of long-distance express trains will remain cancelled on selected dates between November 8 and November 24. These include the Shalimar–Bhuj Express, Shalimar–Puri Express, Shalimar–Visakhapatnam Express, Shalimar–Secunderabad Express, Thiruvananthapuram Central–Shalimar Express, Shalimar–Patna Express, Howrah–Puri Express, and LTT Mumbai–Shalimar Express. In addition, three local trains between Shalimar and Santragachi will remain cancelled from November 13.
Meanwhile, 18 services will be short-terminated or originate from Santragachi instead of Shalimar, while one pair will operate from Kharagpur. The Aranyak Express will run between Santragachi and Bhojudih from October 23 to November 24 on specified dates, while the Shalimar-Bhanjpur Express will start or end at Kharagpur between October 27 and November 25.
Other long-distance trains, including the MGR Chennai Central–Shalimar Express, Vasco-da-Gama–Shalimar Express, Porbandar–Shalimar Express, and Puri–Shalimar Express, will be short-terminated at Santragachi, with their return services also
starting from there.