Train services between Sealdah South and Sonarpur stations were disrupted for about an hour on Monday afternoon after a compactor machine of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation rammed into the level-crossing gate near Baghajatin station, snapping an overhead wire.

The accident happened at the level crossing between Baghajatin and New Garia stations around 12.10pm.

Thousands of people were stranded. Three pairs of local trains in the Sealdah (South) section had to be cancelled and 12 were delayed. “Connectivity could be restored by 1.08pm,” an Eastern Railway official said.

The compactor, used to clear waste material, has been seized and will undergo a mechanical test, a GRP officer said.

The driver of the vehicle has been arrested for rash and negligent driving.

No one was injured.

The officer said a major accident had been averted. “There could have been serious consequences had a train passed the stretch at the time or the accident,” the officer said.