Eastern Railway gears up for festive crowds, boosts security at Howrah and Sealdah

Eastern Railway has announced additional special trains, extra night suburban services and stepped-up security to handle the festive rush.

General manager Gitika Pandey announced the key arrangements on Wednesday.

Special trains

A total of 1,354 special long-distance trains have been announced for Durga Puja and Chhath, connecting Bengal with different states between October 1 and November 30.

Night services

Sixty-three special night suburban services will run from October 17 to 21, including 51 under the Sealdah division and 12 under Howrah. The services will cover popular Puja routes across the two suburban networks.

Passenger management

Howrah and Sealdah stations will make additional arrangements to accommodate passengers.

Sealdah’s car parking area will remain closed from October 15 to 21 to make room for passengers. At Howrah, the old and new cab roads will be used to accommodate passengers if required.

Additional staff

More than 440 additional commercial staff will be deployed to assist passengers and manage queues.

Ticketing facilities

At Howrah, the number of unreserved ticket counters will increase from 24 to 30 and mobile ticketing facilities from 12 to 16.

At Sealdah, unreserved counters will rise from 13 to 20 and mobile ticketing facilities from 10 to 14.

CCTV surveillance

The number of CCTV cameras across the Howrah, Sealdah, Malda and Asansol divisions will increase from 1,439 to 1,882. Howrah will have 691 cameras, Sealdah 499, Malda 311 and Asansol 381.

RPF deployment

Railway Protection Force personnel will increase from 1,514 to 1,822. Deployment at Howrah will rise from 462 to 572 and at Sealdah from 736 to 875.

Control room

A 24-hour control room will monitor crowd movement through CCTV networks and coordinate with different departments during the Puja period.

Medical assistance

Additional medical assistance booths will be set up at Howrah, Sealdah and other stations.