Howrah:

More than 300 passengers travelled on a special Howrah-Sheoraphuli local train on Tuesday morning to mark 60 years of Eastern Railway’s first EMU local train service.

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had flagged off the first train between the two stations on December 12, 1957.

On Tuesday, the train was decorated with flowers and railway officials presented passengers with chocolates as many took selfies with the train.

Motorman Sekhar Chattopadhyay and guard Swapan Kumar Modi, both due for retirement in some months, flagged off the train at 11.52am from platform No. 8.

The train reached Sheoraphuli at 12.40pm.

The railway board had sanctioned the project in June 1954 and the first train pulled out of Howrah three years later.

Harindra Rao, GM, Eastern Railway, said the Sheoraphuli-Burdwan and Sheoraphuli-Tarakeswar sections were electrified by December 1965.

The electrification of Howrah-Burdwan Chord and Calcutta Chord link was completed in 1966, he said.

Today, Eastern Railway runs 1,393 EMU trains – 476 in Howrah division and 917 in Sealdah division – every day.

Sudhir Agrawal, additional general manager, and Manu Goel, divisional railway manager, Howrah, were present on the occasion.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta,India / Home> Calcutta / by Staff Reporter / December 13th, 2017