The Maitree Express from Dhaka reached Calcutta 20 minutes late on Sunday as smoke in the pantry car forced it to make an unscheduled stop at Kakinara in North 24-Parganas.

One of the employees spotted smoke inside the coach around 5.36pm, a little after the train had crossed Naihati Junction, a rail official said.

The train had 200 passengers when the smoke was spotted. The official said there was no need for any evacuation.

"The smoke was cleared even before most passengers could see it," an Eastern Railway spokesperson said. "Since it had stopped for about 20 minutes at the station, it reached Calcutta slightly late."

The train had left Dhaka in the morning. Another official said an inquiry was on to find out what led to the smoke.

The train has two stops for immigration checking - one at Darshana on the Bangladeshi side and the other at Gede on the Indian side. It takes a little over 11 hours to complete the 375-km journey.

Slum fire

Three shanties of a slum in Jorabagan's Nather Bagan Lane were destroyed in a fire on Sunday afternoon after an LPG cylinder in one of the shanties exploded, police said. Seven fire tenders were used to douse the flames.