The airport station wears a deserted look. A Telegraph picture

Rail connectivity between the city and the airport will be revamped from October 1 with 14 new trains.

“Two new trains will run between Sealdah and the airport for two months on an experimental basis. If successful, the service will continue,” a spokesperson for Eastern Railway said on Thursday. The trains will run on all days except Sunday.

Four of these trains will run on the Circular Railway route, connecting Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport with the city. “These four-coach special trains will make commuting much easier during the festive season,” the spokesperson said.

The other trains will ply between the airport and Dum Dum Junction and Dum Dum Cantonment. They will be available throughout the day.

The train services between Sealdah and the airport was inaugurated by railway minister Lalu Prasad on July 29, 2006, but proved to be a non-starter. The two pairs of trains are running empty despite a three-fold increase in passenger traffic at the airport since then.

“There has been a long-standing demand from passengers to change the present train timings and add more trains to make the service more feasible,” the railway official said.

The railway authorities had spent around Rs 80 crore for connecting the airport with Sealdah, but no effort was made to attract airport-bound passengers. Most people are not even aware of the service and those who know about it find it inconvenient.

“The distance between the station and the airport terminal is more than a five-minute walk. The climb is steep and there are no trolleys at the station,” said Vivek Verma, a frequent flier from the city.

“With only two trains to the airport, timing is also a problem. If these obstacles are removed, train would be an ideal choice, given the congestion on roads,” he said.

According to railway sources, the daily average income from ticket sales at the airport station does not exceed Rs 100.

However, the authorities expect greater footfall once the additional trains are pressed into service.