Most local trains running between Howrah and Burdwan, along with 41 pairs of mail and express trains plying through Burdwan station, will be cancelled on Thursday as the railway authorities have taken a 14-hour block to demolish a century-old abandoned railway overbridge at Burdwan station.
This is the second block after February 5 in the Howrah division to demolish the overbridge. Senior railway officials confirmed that railway services would resume partially after 6pm on Thursday.
“The dismantling of the abandoned bridge was due since the new overbridge is in use since 2019. Initially, engineers planned to take around three months for the same work. However, finally, we are taking 24 days to complete the task to reduce the suffering of commuters. Once the dismantling is completed, we will get more space to lay down new tracks and the length of the platforms can be extended to enhance passenger amenities,” said Manish Jain, the divisional railway manager(DRM) of Howrah told reporters on Wednesday.
The work to dismantle the old overbridge started on January 26 and will continue till February 21. However, railway officials said there would be no more massive cancellations of trains after Thursday.
Senior railway officials at the news meet said that 17 pairs of Howrah-Burdwanlocal trains plying through the main line and 14 pairs plying through chord lines would be cancelled on Thursday.
Apart from local trains,41 pairs of mail and express trains mostly those connecting Bihar, Jharkhand and north Bengal, will be cancelled. Among the mail and express trains NJP-Howrah Shatabdi Express, Howrah-Ranchi Shatabdi Express, Howrah-Patna Shatabdi Express and Santiniketan Express will be cancelled for Thursday.
“Trains that start after 6 pm from Howrah and Sealdah would have no impact. The services would be blocked from 1.30am to 3.30 pm on Thursday. A few trains like Vande Bharat Express would run according to their usual timing,” said a railway official present along with DRM Jainin the news meet.
He added that 11 pairs of Howrah-Shaktigarh local trains on the mainline and 10 pairs of Howrah-Masagramlocal trains would run as a special measure for benefit of commuters.
Though railway authorities pointed out the emergency requirement of such a block on Thursday, several daily passengers were upset that it fell a working day.
“It is really unfortunate for people like us for whom local trains are a lifeline. The services of trains were suspended on February 5, a Sunday. Suspension of almost all local trains on a working day is extremely painful for thousands. How will we manage to go to our workplaces?” asked Subrata Hazra, a member of a daily passengers’ association in Burdwan.
Railway officials said they regretted the inconvenience but the decision was taken based on engineers’ advice.
