Sealdah station earmarks platforms for different sections
The Statesman | 3 August 2025
Commuters availing local EMUs towards various suburban sections from Sealdah station would not have to jostle through the crowd running to different platforms to catch trains.
The zonal railway has decided to allocate specific platforms for different trains heading to various suburban sections as an initiative to streamline train operations and ensure crowd management.
The division has allocated platforms for different suburban sections like Sealdah South, Bongaon/Hasnabad, Krishnanagar/Gede, Dankuni Section and so on. To begin with, platform number one to five would primarily cater to suburban services bound for main line sections, namely Krishnanagar, Gede, Santipur, Ranaghat, Naihati, Kalyani Simanta and Barrackpore. Likewise, platform number five to eight will primarily be used for suburban services bound for CCR sections including Dankuni and Baruipara while platform number six to 10 will primarily serve suburban services bound for Central sections, including Bongaon, Barasat, Habra, Duttapukur, Gobardanga, Thakurnagar, Hasnabad, Dumdum Cantonment and Madhyamgram.
Platform numbers 9 and 11 to 14 will cater to mail/express services. The rest of the platforms, including those from 15 to 21 would cater to suburban services for the Sealdah South section only.
Notably, Sealdah is one of the busiest stations in India. According to the zonal railway data, it caters to 15-18 lakh commuters a day and serves as the transportation lifeline for Kolkata and its suburbs. On an average, around 915 suburban locals are operated everyday across the division. Given the huge passenger rush during morning and evening peak hours, commuters face inconvenience in movement within station premises and concourse area at Sealdah station.
Considering the fact, the division has earlier increased local trains in select routes and also rescheduled the timings of few crucial local EMUs at few busiest stations. After experimenting with the reshuffling of timings and addition of local trains, the divisional railway has now decided to allocate specific stations for particular suburban sections. According to the divisional railway officials, the initiative is aimed at segregating passenger flow of different sections, preventing criss-cross movement for better public convenience. The primary objective of the exercise is to ensure improved circulation and smoother operations during peak hours.
The divisional railway authorities are anticipating that the dedication of specific platforms for particular sections would decongest platform area by helping passengers in navigating the station more easily and avoid near misses. Further, it will embolden Railway authority to manage train schedules and movement more efficiently by reducing likelihood of delays and cancellations.