Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will inaugurate a new express train connecting Birbhum’s Suri and Sealdah on July 31 from New Delhi. This will meet a longstanding demand of people of Suri.

The train will start its journey from August 1. The new train will start from Suri at 5.20am daily and reach Sealdah by 10am. The same train will leave Sealdah at 5.25pm and will reach Suri by 10.15pm. It will have stops at Andal, Burdwan, Bandel and Naihati.

Sources said, during the recent visit of railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to Bengal, BJP’s state general secretary Jagannath Chattopadhyay appealed to him for a train connecting Calcutta to Suri, which is his hometown. Chattopadhyay had also unsuccessfully contested from the Suri Assembly seat in 2021 polls.

“There was a demand from people of Suri for a train which will reach Calcutta in the morning and return from the city in the evening. There was no such direct train from Suri during that time period. I personally requested the railway minister on May 30 during his recent visit to Calcutta and he sanctioned it within a fortnight,” said Chattopadhyay, who will be present in Suri on the inaugural day along with leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.

He also appealed to the railway minister for two more projects — the completion of Prantik-Suri railway tracks and a new freight track connecting Suri and Deocha-Pachami.

The work of Prantik-Suri railway line is on hold for years following a land related dispute.

“The minister said that it will need some time to initiate those two projects as in both cases there is a need for coordination with the state government for the requirement of land. But he did not delay to give a train for the people of Suri,” he said.