Kolkata-Howrah Suburban, Kolkata Circular, West Bengal Railways

[studdmanster]

Originally Posted by Ashis Mitra

Do you know - There was a NG rail line from Majherhat to Falta via today's James long Sarani's alignment? That line closed almost 50 years ago. The Gholsapur station building is still remained. A photo of that line is present at PF 22 of Haorha station.

yes...and dats y james long is the only road in behala which is a dual carriage road and also the widest...60ft each side!

[studdmanster]

Howrah-Barbil janshatabdi waiting at T2 in howrah...the inside f janshatabdi is dirty like hell!..decorated with panstains!..mst f the sliding windows are out of service!...and food...one has 2 b lucky to get nethng @ ni8!

[studdmanster]

watch out the new colors on the pillars...one is lavender with orange..while the other is green with orange..dis is the new clr scheme which has been given to the carsheds and boundary wall f the station!

[chennaidesi]

Guys any idea about daily traffic volume in Kolkatta suburban trains.

[Bombay2Calcutta]

A very good report on a sustainable transport solution for Calcutta.
The report may be old but very intresting

[Ashis Mitra]

*Some great projects are under construction in Kolkata’s suburban railway –

New lines & extensions -
1) Namkhana – Bakkhali via Chandranagar.
2) Tarakeshwar – Bishnupur via Arambag.
3) Tarakeshwar – Magra via Dhanekhali.
4) Tarakeshwar – Champadanga.
5) Arambag – Ghatal via Irphala.
6) Arambag – Boaichandi.
7) Hasnabad – Hingalganj.
8) Bajbaj – Pujali.
9) Machhalandapur – Swarupnagar.
10) Krishnanagar – Chartala.
11) Bangaon – Bagda via Chandabazar.
12) Canning – Gosaba via Bhangankhali.
13) Jaynagar – Raydighi.
14) Dankuni – Furfura Sharif.
15) Barhgachhia – Champadanga.
16) Amta – Bagnan.
17) Deshapran - Nandigram.
18) Masagram – Rainagar.

Gauge Conversions –
1) Barddhaman – Katwa
2) Shantipur – Krishnanagar
3) Krishnanagar – Nabadwip Ghat

Surveys for new lines –
1) Kulpi – Raychak
2) Akra – Diamond Harbor
3) Balichak – Digha
4) Kanthi – Belda
5) Kalyani – Bangaon
6) Ranaghat – Dattaphulia
7) Shialdaha – Haorha

[SarafIndian]

Originally Posted by chennaidesi

Guys any idea about daily traffic volume in Kolkatta suburban trains.

Not sure if there is any survey in this regard..

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by studdmanster

Howrah-Barbil janshatabdi waiting at T2 in howrah...the inside f janshatabdi is dirty like hell!..decorated with panstains!..mst f the sliding windows are out of service!...and food...one has 2 b lucky to get nethng @ ni8!

Maybe you should send an email to Quiz Master Derek O Brien or Self declared intellectual Shuvaprasanna - and tell them that their mantriji is failing the janata.

[buddy_rohan]

Originally Posted by Ashis Mitra

The Naihati – Bandel line is frequently used by suburban & express trains. There are one Barddhaman Local & one Katwa local, which run from Shialdaha via this line. Other wise there are only suburban trains between Naihat & Bandel.

You can interchange between EMU train & metro at Dumdum, Shobhabazar & Tollyganj rail station.

You can interchange between EMU train & tram at Tala, Bagbazar, Binay Badal Dinesh Bag, Khidirpur, Majherhat (now tram closed), Tollyganj, Baliganj, Shialdaha, Bidhannagar Road, Park Circus, & Haorha (now tram closed) rail station.

You can interchange between tram & metro at Dumdum, Belgachhia, Shyambazar, Shobhabazar, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Central, Esplanade, Mother Teresa Sarani (now tram closed), Maidan (now tram closed), Rabindra Sadan (now tram closed), Netaji Bhaban (now tram closed), Jatin Das Park, Kalighat, Rabindra Sarobar & Mahanayak Uttamkumar metro station.

Thanks Ashis for the info. but again, i would have to ask if there's a proper map with all lines (as someone pointed out some lines are absent and some wrong), clearly this map is old. How do local commuters travel considering the vastness and good interchangeability within the network? There must be some map available in print...

also, is the ring railway popular? i desperately wanna visit calcutta just to see this suburban network, and major stations like Sealdah, dumdum, howrah, and interchanges....and of course the metro and the trams. amazing really (at least from far!)

[studdmanster]

Originally Posted by Suncity

Maybe you should send an email to Quiz Master Derek O Brien or Self declared intellectual Shuvaprasanna - and tell them that their mantriji is failing the janata.

after getting 50k p/m...that too from the money that we earn...do you think they would be interested in listening to the problems of aam aadmis?....i wonder...!

[debayanlahiri]

Originally Posted by buddy_rohan

Thanks Ashis for the info. but again, i would have to ask if there's a proper map with all lines (as someone pointed out some lines are absent and some wrong), clearly this map is old. How do local commuters travel considering the vastness and good interchangeability within the network? There must be some map available in print...

also, is the ring railway popular? i desperately wanna visit calcutta just to see this suburban network, and major stations like Sealdah, dumdum, howrah, and interchanges....and of course the metro and the trams. amazing really (at least from far!)

Welcome to Kolkata.. yes u r right.. Kolkata is amazing.. and we r trying to make it better everyday! The suburban network is well connected and is on an expansion mode.. the stations are being redeveloped and almost all stations are undergoing paint jobs to get a new feel and look.. A few of the stations will be converted into World-Class with great facilities.. Have a good time at Kolkata..

[debayanlahiri]

Originally Posted by debayanlahiri

Competition for Re-designing Indian Railways' Logo: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defau...Mode=HTML&GZ=T

My friend Atanu Dutta (Skyscrapercity Id: designsonu) has sent this logo for the competition..

[Bombay2Calcutta]

Originally Posted by debayanlahiri

My friend Atanu Dutta (Skyscrapercity Id: designsonu) has sent this logo for the competition..

Great work .. Kudos to Atanu . All the best

[Ashis Mitra]

Originally Posted by buddy_rohan

Thanks Ashis for the info. but again, i would have to ask if there's a proper map with all lines (as someone pointed out some lines are absent and some wrong), clearly this map is old. How do local commuters travel considering the vastness and good interchangeability within the network? There must be some map available in print...

also, is the ring railway popular? i desperately wanna visit calcutta just to see this suburban network, and major stations like Sealdah, dumdum, howrah, and interchanges....and of course the metro and the trams. amazing really (at least from far!)

Thanks to you also for thanking me. I'll soon create a complete map of Kolkata suburban railway & post here.

Yes, the ring railway (a.k.a circular railway) is very very popular to both daily passengers & tourists.

[Bombay2Calcutta]

[Bombay2Calcutta]

Source
Eastern Railway has floated a tender as part of a two packet system for advertisement rights of exterior vinyl wrapping of its coaches for a period of five years. While packet 'A' shall contain the technical bid, packet 'B' will contain the financial bid. These rakes ply in the suburban section of the Sealdah division in Kolkata.


Advertisement
The available ad display area on each rake of 9, 10 and 12 coaches is 4529 sq. ft, 5075 sq. ft and 6181 sq. ft respectively. While the earnest money deposit (EMD) for these are in the range of Rs 9,000-13,000, the annual reserved license fee will be in the range of Rs 4,84,000-6,60,578, depending on the available display area on each rake. This will be compoundable by 10 per cent annually.

As per the guidelines mentioned in the tender, only colours in shades of peacock blue, crimson red and golden yellow can be used for painting or wrapping the coaches.

The tender notice also states that reputed firms or agencies with relevant experience in outdoor advertising, government/government undertaking organizations and private sector companies are eligible for the contract.

A senior media planner shares how trains have evolved as a media and how, besides plain branding, a lot can be done by bringing in the interactive elements. He cites the example of India's largest bourse by turnover, the National Stock Exchange (NSE), which recently started using the Rajdhani Express trains for its awareness campaign. The programme kick started on April 28 with the idea to empower the market participants and enhance the trading experience through focused and relevant market related education.

The last date for submission of tender documents for the Sealdah division is June 25.

[Bombay2Calcutta]

TOI
A nice article

ON BOARD KALYANI-SEALDAH LOCAL: Like its notorious history of late arrivals, this train came late on Wednesday again. By almost a full 10 minutes. Long enough for panic. Long enough for passenger unrest common on suburban routes. And long enough to pass out in sauna summer. But none happened. No one even seemed to notice. The second, minutes... time itself belonged to Mamata Banerjee, the "do-gooder". Alcohol is banned on station and trains. But if there were some who wanted to uncork the bubbly, Didi surely would have forgiven them. True to the spirit of the occasion.

This train, which arrives in Barrackpore at 2.55pm every day, picks up a crowd of schoolchildren, college students and some officegoers working "unearthly hours", would never come on time before Mamata became railway minister. On some days, it just wouldn't come. The next local 15 minutes later came packed to the brim, leading to the regular shove, push (and sometimes punch) drill that even the little schoolkids became skilled at. Thus unfolded the nightmare on one of the busiest suburban routes, without relief and without an end.

Then, one day, it was over. Like many other problems the unharnessed change winds blew away. It took a political churning here, a new government in Delhi and a UPA ally doggedly loyal to its Mission Bengal', to ensure the down Kalyani local came on time. At least so it seemed on the suburban stations of Barrackpore, Sodepur, Belghoria and others, which see millions commute on local trains everyday. Didi earned many a silent blessing 57-year-old Ashok Sen can now find a window seat, 28-year-old banker Shoumik Ghosh is thankful his shirt isn't creased by the daily struggle and little Deepika, who studies in class 1, can read Alice in Wonderland' on her way home.

On Wednesday, in the middle of the state's own version of the Green Revolution' writing its penultimate chapter, the Down Kalyani's late arrival was an ill-timed aberration. But no one cared. Mamata's voice seeped through the speakers of a Blackberry-like phone on which someone was watching her victory conference. It was close to 3.30pm and the train was nearing Dum Dum. Didi was promising more change. Passengers, bound to her by that kinship, pressed closer to the phone's owner for a final look before stepping off. Many stayed on the train, huddled around the mobile. It was perhaps the first standing ovation for Mamata, thanks to the fact that the train was late and there were no seats.

"It's her time, Mamata can do no wrong," claimed a co-passenger, who seemed in his mid-30s. That, indeed, was the overwhelming opinion. The anti-Left undercurrent remained as strong as ever. But those "reluctantly pro-Mamata" had turned "willingly pro-Mamata".

As the train sped towards Sealdah, Kolkata got noisier. Chest-thumping, drum beating Trinamool supporters doused generously in green abir were everywhere. "City of joy," murmured an old man in white beard that gave him an M F Husain look. "Pore bujhbe (they'll realise later)," he uttered a little louder, caustically. "Bamera amader bondhu chhilo (the Leftists were our friends)," replied Sen, peering up from his newspaper. "Kemon jeno bodle galo... shob shesh (something changed... it's all over now)," he added with a sigh.

It was a lament for a long lost friend. Or better still, a message for Mamata. Change must always be for the better

[Bombay2Calcutta]

TELEGRAPH
A new suburban railway station will be built near Ballygunge station, railway minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Sunday.

The planned station, between Ballygunge and Park Circus stations of Eastern Railway, will be built at the railway yard adjoining the Bondel Gate level crossing, at the intersection of Bondel Road and Picnic Garden Road. The station will be named Bahadur Shah Zafar.

“The station, along with a market complex, will usher in development in the area. Since the number of passengers is increasing, there is a need to upgrade infrastructure,” Mamata said, while flagging off two local trains between Sealdah and Canning and Sealdah and Sonarpur and work on a nursing college at Majherhat.

“There is a need to ease the congestion at Sealdah and Howrah stations. In Mumbai and Delhi, new suburban stations are being built to reduce pressure on bigger stations,” the minister said.

Railway officials said Indian Railway Construction Company was conducting a survey to identify the site of the proposed station and work out other details.

“It will be a modern station with facilities like escalators, Internet kiosks and a food mart,” said P. Guha, the divisional railway manager (Sealdah). According to railway officials, a suburban station costs around Rs 10 crore to set up.

“The station would help residents of Picnic Garden and its surrounding areas,” said a railway official. The railway yard would be shifted.

Mamata also announced the setting up of a new diagnostic centre near Kankulia level crossing, between Ballygunge and Dhakuria stations. “Railway land is lying unused there. The diagnostic centre will help the poor,” she said.

On the shortage of Metro Railway rakes, Mamata said new coach manufacturing units would be built to solve the problem. “The Perambur coach factory has to get equipment from abroad to build a coach and it takes a lot of time. So the railway must be self-sufficient in manufacturing rakes,” she added.

[Bombay2Calcutta]

HINDU
New trains: Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee along with Union Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy (Centre) and newly-elected Mayor of Kolkata Sovan Chatterjee flagged off the Sealdah-Sonarpur and Sealdah-Canning local trains in Kolkata on Sunday

[Bombay2Calcutta]

TOI
KOLKATA: Train services in the Baruipur-Diamond Harbour section of Eastern Railway’s Sealdah South division were disrupted for nearly 12 hours on Tuesday due to an agitation.

The demonstrators squatted on the tracks at Bahirpuya Halt from 5.40am and threw banana leaves on the overhead wires to disrupt services. They demanded more 12-coach EMU rakes in the section and stoppage for more trains at the halt. The agitation ended at 2.10pm but it took nearly three hours for railway staff to clear the banana leaves from the wires. Normal services could resume only after 5pm.

“The demonstrators were completely unjustified in holding up services pn this eection in this manner,” said a senior ER official, adding, “Of the 46 EMU local trains running in this section, 30 are 12-coach ones. The demand for stoppages for more trains was a fresh one made during the day.

As many as 33 trains stop at Bahirpuya Halt. The protesters are demanding stoppages for six more trains when only 430 tickets, worth Rs 4,000, are sold from there each day. The agitation seems to have been politically motivated.”