Help desks at Sealdah crowded with anxious passengers

Kolkata: North Bengal-bound passengers thronged the help desk set up by Eastern Railway officials at Sealdah Division, following a devastating rear-end collision involving the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjungha Express near New Jalpaiguri (NJP). The accident occurred around 8:55 am on Monday. The tragic incident, which sparked a political uproar among parties, resulted in the loss of at least nine lives and left approximately 25 others injured, according to the latest figures available at the time of this report.

Helpline numbers and desks were opened at various stations, including Sealdah, to manage queries of relatives of passengers travelling in the affected Kanchanjungha Express and passengers scheduled to travel to different locations in northeast and North Bengal. More than the relatives of the passengers travelling in Kanchanjunga Express, the help desks at Sealdah were frequently approached by the passengers with scheduled trips in trains like Teesta Torsa and Uttar Banga Express, amongst others. Amongst these anxious commuters was a Teesta Torsa passenger from Bangladesh who was going to Darjeeling with his family for a vacation.

“I did not know about the accident. Became anxious after seeing the crowd near the help desk and was informed about the accident by people around. They (Railway staff) told me that the timing will be informed soon,” the passenger said.

Sealdah to New Alipurduar Teesta Torsa Express departed from Sealdah at its scheduled time of 3 pm.

Another passenger, who works at Park Circus, was scheduled to leave for his family home at Falakata on Monday. “I wanted to escape the heat and go home for a few days to meet my mother. It is scheduled to depart at 7:40 pm,” he said. According to the Railway staff at the help desk there, they were receiving more calls than relatives coming to the station to enquire.

“They asked mostly about train running status and scheduled arrival time of the unaffected portion of Kanchanjungha Express,” Railway staff said while continuously attending calls from people enquiring about the situation.

Helpline numbers at Sealdah Station are (03323508794) and (03323833326); at Naihati Station they are (03325812128) and (03325805244) and at Dakshineswar Station the numbers are (03323832590) and (03323832590).

Following the incident, 24 trains were diverted via New Jalpaiguri, Siliguri Junction, Bagdogra and Aluabari Road. These trains included Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express, Dibrugarh-Howrah Kamrup Express, Bamanhat-Sealdah Uttar Banga Express and Haldibari-Sealdah Darjeeling Mail, amongst others.