Resumption of local train services on suburban routes of Calcutta and south Bengal spurred commuters of north Bengal to demand local train services to restart in the region.
The Bengal government and the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) — almost the entire north Bengal, the northeast and nearby areas of Bihar come under this railway zone — have been requested to resume local train services by trade bodies and leaders like Siliguri MLA Asok Bhattacharya.
“A large number of people in north Bengal and adjoining areas of Bihar and Assam are largely dependent on local trains. Among these are vegetable vendors, daily commuters and others...They have been facing huge problems for months...I have written to the general manager of NFR, seeking necessary initiatives from their end (to resume the service),” said Bhattacharya.
The Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industries, North Bengal (Focin), one of north Bengal’s largest trade bodies, also wrote to the state government. “We wrote to the additional chief secretary of home and hill affairs department last week, urging him to talk to NFR officials to restart the services,” said Biswajit Das, Focin secretary.
An NFR official said the state government would have to take the call. “We can start services only after the state approaches us. We need to plan for the new normal and maintain health protocols,” said an official.
Under the NFR, over 80 pairs of passenger trains and another 60 pairs of DEMU rakes ran across the region before the pandemic’s outbreak. Nearly 2.5 lakh passengers used these trains daily.