Hundreds of Trinamul supporters swarmed at the New Cooch Behar railway station on Tuesday, resorting to protests and also blocking the railway tracks for two hours to demand a stop of the Vande Bharat Express at the station.

From May 25, a Vande Bharat Express is likely to be introduced between New Jalpaiguri and Guwahati.

“We have come to know that the train will halt only in New Alipurduar, other than NJP, in Bengal. This is disappointing as the people of Cooch Behar will not get the benefits of the semi-high-speed train. That is why we launched the protest on Tuesday. If our demand is not met, we will renew our movement in the coming days,” said Avijit De Bhowmik, the Cooch Behar district Trinamul president.

The move, political observers said, is an attemptto exert pressure on theBJP and Cooch Behar MP Nisith Pramanik, who isalso a junior minister in the Union home ministry.

“While Cooch Behar is being deprived of the train service, the BJP MP and MLAs are sitting silent. This indicates their insincerity towards the residents of the district who have voted them into power,” De Bhowmik added.

Around 11am, Trinamul supporters, led by De Bhowmik and Trinamul district chairman Girindranath Barman, entered the station with placards and party flags. They resorted to sloganeering and also raised blockades on tracks, which halted the movement of some trains.

The Trinamul protests, which continued for two hours, were finally withdrawn at 1pm following the intervention of the railway officials and the RPF personnel.

Pramanik, the MP, when contacted, said that the train would definitely have a stop at the New Cooch Behar station.

“Whenever the train is introduced between NJP and Guwahati, it will stop at New Cooch Behar. Trinamul has become politically bankrupt and some of its leaders are trying to create confusion among people nowadays,” said Pramanik.