The platform extension work at Sealdah, which caused large-scale disruption of services and tormented tens of thousands of commuters, ended on Sunday
afternoon.

But not before a section of irate passengers, some of them waiting at the station through the night, ransacked portion of a enquiry counter at Sealdah station on Sunday morning. They alleged lack of clear communication from the railway authorities.

Railway Protection Force personnel had to step in to push the protesters back.

Many trains on the Sealdah north and main sections were cancelled since Friday for the infrastructure upgrade work, which involves extending platforms 1 to 5 to accommodate 12-coach trains there, instead of nine-coach trains.

Several trains ended trips at Dum Dum and Dum Dum Cantonment instead of Sealdah. The long interval between trains and a long wait en route led to a harrowing time for passengers. Many trains headed to Sealdah were left stranded on the tracks for hours.

The passengers of long-distance and express trains were not spared either.

Raju Adhikari, 28, reached Sealdah at 11.30am on Rajdhani Express, delayed by a little over an hour. He came with his father and wife.

They waited, in vain, for over two hours for a train to Bongaon, their hometown.

“I visited the enquiry office many times but they failed to give a proper update,”
said Adhikari, who now lives in Delhi.

The Adhikaris finally booked a taxi for Rs 3,200.

“My father is 54. He is not feeling well in this heat and humidity,” said a helpless Adhikari.

Md Nematullah, 58, and his daughter, 30, residents of Muzaffarpur in Bihar, had been waiting from 9pm on Friday to board a Bihar-bound train from Sealdah. The Sealdah-Jaynagar (Bihar) special train usually leaves at 11.55pm on Saturday. The train had not come till 1pm on Sunday.

Nematullah came to Calcutta last week to seek medical help for his daughter, suffering from a brain disease.

“Initially, we were told that the train is rescheduled to depart at 4am. But the timing got postponed several times. Now, it is supposed to leave at 2.15pm,” said Nematullah.

Later, when this newspaper contacted Nematullah, he confirmed that the train left at 2.15pm.

Sudipta Sen, 50, who was travelling to Guwahati on the Kanchanjungha Express, had a heated conversation with the RPF in front of the enquiry country.

“Either you tell me the right time of departure or refund my money. This is nothing but complete harassment,” he yelled at the RPF.

The Barrackpore resident had been waiting at the station from 5am. The usual departure time was 6.35am.

“I first got a message that his train would depart at 10am. It did not. Another message came at noon, saying that the train would depart at 2.15pm,” he said.

Railway authorities flaunted the “early” completion — the stipulated time was 2pm — of the work but a ripple effect lasted for at least the next three hours.

“Eastern Railway is pleased to announce the successful early completion of non-Interlocking work towards the extension of platforms No.1 to 5 at Sealdah Main and North sections. This crucial project, aimed at accommodating 12-coach EMU trains, was completed ahead of schedule, with the block being withdrawn at 12:00 hours today, two hours before the scheduled completion time of 14:00 hrs,” said a statement issued by a railway spokesperson.

After the curbs were lifted, the first train, Shantipur – Sealdah local, arrived at Platform No. 5 at 1.18pm.