Kolkata, Aug 17 (IANS) The Sealdah Division of Eastern Railway (ER) will extend an air-conditioned EMU local train service up to Bangaon from August 20.
The service that now runs between the Sealdah and Barasat stations will be extended up to Bangaon, officials said on Sunday.
This will provide a more comfortable journey for commuters.
Bangaon, in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, is located along the border with Bangladesh. It is 79 km from Sealdah.
Being a border town with an Integrated Check Post (ICP), it is a major trading point.
“This move is aimed at making daily suburban travel cooler and far more comfortable. This upgraded air-conditioned service will run six days a week, from Monday to Saturday,” an official said.
The train will start from Sealdah at 10:33 a.m. and halt at Barasat at 11:14 a.m. It will stop at all major stations along the route, including Bamangachhi, Duttapukur, Bira, Ashoknagar Road, Habra, Maslandapur, Gobardanga, Thakurnagar, and Chandpara and reach Bangaon Junction at 12:23 p.m.
On its return journey, the Down Bangaon – Sealdah AC EMU local will leave Bangaon at 12:35 p.m., make scheduled halts at intermediate stations, and finally terminate at Sealdah at 14:25 p.m.
Rajeev Saxena, Divisional Railway Manager at Sealdah, said that passenger comfort and convenience remain the railway’s highest priority.
“Extension of the AC local services to Bangaon directly addresses the growing demand from daily suburban commuters, ensuring that their everyday travel across North 24 Parganas is faster, more modern, and more pleasant,” the official added.
The Sealdah Division started running AC EMU locals in August 2025. It now has two AC EMU rakes. All the coaches of these trains are fully air-conditioned.
The coaches are made of stainless steel and have straight side walls.
All the 12-coaches of the rake are end to end connected by sealed wider vestibule gangways.
All the AC EMU coaches have four electrically operated double leaf automatic sliding doors in each side. They also have wide and large double sealed glass windows providing panoramic view.
Three-seater stainless steel seats are provided in all the coaches.
Total seating capacity of the rake is around 1,100. All the coaches are covered by CCTV surveillance. The coaches have wear resistant rubber floor tops, aluminium extruded modular luggage racks and GPS-based LED displays for passenger information.
Announcement systems are provided in each coach of the rake to enhance passenger amenity and comfort.
The doors of the train are automatically operated and open only after the train stops at a station.
They close before departing from the stations and remain close while on the run for safety reasons.
The control of the doors remains with the motorman or conducting motorman.
ER is planning to get more air-conditioned EMU rakes for operations in other routes.
–IANS
jg/khz
