Kolkata, Feb. 5 -- Train services on the Sealdah Main and North Lines were severely disrupted on Wednesday afternoon following a point malfunction at Kankurgachi.
The incident, which occurred at 12:14 pm at the 102 No. point when a train was starting its journey from Sealdah, resulted in a halt to train movements on lines 3 and 4, affecting both up and down services for over an hour. Engineers were dispatched to the site and the fault was eventually fixed by 1:35 pm. During repairs, trains were operated from the remaining two lines, with line 2 operating under manual signalling, which further delayed services.
A spokesperson of Sealdah Division confirmed that the malfunction led to cancellations and significant delays, affecting an estimated 18 pairs of local trains. 15 pairs of trains were delayed and two pairs were cancelled. One Naihati-Ballugunge local was short-terminated at Barrackpore and also began its return journey from there.
Several trains, including those to Duttapukur, Dankuni, Gobardanga and Hasnabad, were halted between Dum Dum and Sealdah. Passengers were left stranded, with some resorting to disembarking and walking along the tracks. This malfunction comes shortly after the Sealdah Division completed the installation of advanced Electronic Interlocking (EI) systems at both the Ballygunge and Kankurgachi junctions, replacing the old Route Relay Interlocking (RRI) systems. The commissioning of the new EI systems had already led to the cancellation of over 100 local trains on 1 and 2 February, as work was carried out from the night of January 31 until its completion in the early hours of February 3.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.