Sealdah Division adds new AC and EMU locals

Kolkata: Eastern Railway’s Sealdah Division has announced a series of new and extended suburban services, including the introduction of an AC local on the Sealdah–Kalyani route, Sunday operations for the Sealdah–Krishnanagar City Junction AC local, and additional evening trains to ease travel for Metro-connected passengers.

The new Sealdah–Kalyani AC local will run from Monday to Saturday, departing Sealdah at 3:10 pm and reaching Kalyani at 4:32 pm.

The return service will leave Kalyani at 5:02 pm and arrive in Sealdah at 6:20 pm, halting at nine stations including Bidhannagar, Dum Dum, Barrackpore, Naihati and Kanchrapara. Officials said the service would provide much-needed, high-quality connectivity to Kalyani, an important educational and medical hub.

The Sealdah–Krishnanagar City Junction AC local will now run on Sundays as well. On Sundays, it will leave Sealdah at 11:55 am and reach Krishnanagar at 2:20 pm, returning at 3:57 pm to reach Sealdah at 6:20 pm. The Monday–Saturday schedule will remain unchanged.

To improve last-mile links for Metro commuters, a new Dum Dum Cantonment–Bangaon local will depart daily from Dum Dum Cantonment at 8:05 pm. Another new service will run from Bangaon to Barasat, leaving at 10 pm.

The division has also proposed extensions to three existing services. A BBD Bag–Barrackpore local may be extended to Kalyani, while a Barrackpore–Sealdah local is proposed to originate from Kalyani. A Hasnabad–Barasat local may also be extended to Dum Dum Cantonment.

Officials are additionally considering extending several Up trains that currently terminate at intermediate stations between Barasat and Bangaon—such as Duttapukur, Thakurnagar and Gobardanga—up to Bangaon. The rationalisation aims to reduce confusion among peak-hour passengers, ensuring that most services in the direction of Bangaon run through to the terminal station.