Eastern Railway to run 12 special trains for Gangasagar Mela

Kolkata: Eastern Railway (ER) has announced it will run 12 special local trains between January 12 and 17 to help manage the large number of pilgrims attending the Gangasagar Mela.

The Gangasagar Mela draws thousands of devotees each year. To manage the expected crowd, the Sealdah Division had earlier revealed plans to run 72 special local trains from January 12 to 16. In addition to these, ER will operate 12 ‘Galloping Mela Special’ trains across different routes from Sealdah South, Kolkata station, Lakshmikantapur, Namkhana and Kakdwip.

Of the 12 Mela special trains, three will leave from Sealdah South — two to Namkhana and one to Lakshmikantapur. Two trains will depart from Kolkata station for Namkhana. Five trains from Namkhana will run to Sealdah (four) and Lakshmikantapur (one).

One special train each will also run from Lakshmikantapur and Kakdwip to Sealdah. The Mela special trains will stop at stations like Ballygunge, Sonarpur, Baruipur, Lakshmikantapur, Nischindapur and Kakdwip.

Trains starting from Kolkata will also stop at all stations between Kolkata and Majherhat.

However, there will be no stops at Kashinagar Halt station from January 10 to 16, as per instructions from the district administration.

In addition, three regular local trains in the area will be extended from January 12 to 17. On Sunday, January 12, trains on the Lakshmikantapur-Namkhana-Lakshmikantapur route will run according to the usual weekday schedule.