Kolkata, Nov 30: With foggy conditions setting in, the Railways has announced the cancellation of four pairs of express trains for nearly three months, from December to February, to prioritize passenger safety and ensure smoother operations.
A senior official from the Eastern Railway's operations department explained, “Due to reduced visibility during the winter months, train movement slows down significantly. To minimize the risk of accidents, we have decided to reduce the number of trains running on affected routes. This decongestion of tracks allows for more efficient operations under such conditions. We also aim to cancel trains that typically have lower passenger demand during this time of year.”
The affected train services include the Howrah-Dehradun Express, Jhansi-Kolkata Pratham Swatantrata Sangram Express, Kamakhya-Gaya Weekly Express, and the New Delhi-Malda Town Express. In addition, the Upasana Express will be cancelled in both directions from December 3, 2024, to March 1, 2025, and the Jhansi-Kolkata Express will be unavailable between December 6, 2024, and January 12, 2025.
The Kamakhya-Gaya Weekly Express will remain cancelled from December 2, 2024, to February 25, 2025, while the New Delhi-Malda Town Express will be suspended from December 1, 2024, to March 1, 2025. Furthermore, the Mathura-Howrah Chambal Express will operate on a truncated schedule from December 2, 2024, to January 10, 2025, and will not run between Mathura and Agra.
In addition to these cancellations, the Railways has also reduced the frequency of several other trains, including the Howrah-Kathgodam Bagh Express, Kolkata-Amritsar Durgiana Express, Anand Vihar-Bhagalpur Garib Rath Express, and the Ajmer-Sealdah Superfast Express.
