Suburban train service neglected

kolkata: although there has been a notable increase in the number of suburban trains in the past 10 years in sealdah and howrah divisions of eastern railway, the number of trains arriving in sealdah and howrah during the peak hours (8.30 am to 10.30 am) has remained about the same. the result is excessive congestion during this period. increasing the number of trains during peak hours has not been possible because of infrastructure problems, such as lack of platform space.although er has submitted a proposal to increase the number of coaches in these trains from nine to 12 to the railway board, officials believe this is a partial solution. while only 50 emu locals arrive at sealdah station during the peak period, in howrah the figure is 44. the number is rather small compared to the total number of trains running in these two divisions each day. although there is no scope for accommodating more emu locals in howarth station, there is some elbow room in sealdah. a new 24-coach platform is being constructed at sealdah which will relieve some of the existing platforms. besides, with the completion of electrification work of circular railway from dum dum to prinsep ghat, around nine pairs of emu locals in the sealdah north section can be diverted to prinsep ghat. in howrah, what is required is double discharge platforms so that passengers can embark at the station from both sides of the train. although work for such platforms has been sanctioned, it has not yet started. at present, it takes 15 minutes for all passengers to get off the train during peak hours, which keeps the platform blocked. the double discharge platforms will speed up passenger dispersal. consequently, more trains can come in.