Kolkata: Operations at one of India’s busiest railway stations got safer and more reliable through a seven-hour-long exercise on the intervening night of August 29/30, 2026. A major infrastructure upgrade was carried out by various departments of Eastern Railway (ER) within the Sealdah station limits between midnight and 7 a.m., while most of the city and suburbs were asleep.
“The core engineering work focused on converting Diamond Switch Point No 208B/219A from 52 kg to 60 kg rail with complete fittings, incorporating 34.71 meters of 60 kg rail and seven 60 kg prefabricated glued joints (6.5 m each). Despite space constraints at the site, old-age point machines were replaced alongside associated ground fittings to complete a full track-structure upgrade,” a senior ER official said.
According to him, exemplary inter-departmental synergy was demonstrated during the work, with the Signal and Telecommunication (S&T) and Traction Distribution (TRD) wings utilising the engineering traffic block effectively to execute critical shadow works without requiring separate traffic interruptions.
“Under the direct leadership of Sealdah divisional railway manager Rajeev Saxena, the S&T team converted point number 208B from a Siemens to an IRS point machine, replaced two old-age point machines (including ground fittings), laid a new JP-to-point-machine tail cable, changed nine glued joints, replaced 20 track and cross jumpers, and renewed 44 bond wires prior to full S&T testing and commissioning,” the official said.
At the same time, the TRD team liquidated 2–3 years of overdue maintenance in Power Block Section E/S = X–17/Dum Dum (DDJ) Yard Line 5 and 6, conducting Annual Overhaul (AOH) between location numbers 5/29E and 5/23E (attending 4 cantilevers and cleaning 8 insulators), and plumbing two displaced cantilevers at location numbers 5/23E and 5/25E. It even removed two bird nests (not in use) from the portal upright at location number 5/25E.
“The seamless execution of all engineering, S&T, and TRD works and the right-time cancellation of the traffic block at 07:00 hrs reflect high operational efficiency and teamwork across departments,” the official added.
The Sealdah station is used by nearly 1.6 – 1.8 million passengers daily; apart from hundreds of suburban trains, the terminal handles important long-distance ones.
According to officials, this upgrade will not only add to safety but also improve operational efficiency in the yard and beyond. The work was executed ahead of Durga Puja, when the station will witness a spike in footfall, with thousands arriving at the station from the districts for pandal hopping in Kolkata.
ER general manager Gitika Pandey spoke to senior officials of the division and took stock of the progress of the work.
“This successful mega block exemplifies perfect inter-departmental coordination, seamlessly upgrading critical Sealdah yard infrastructure to heavier 60 kg standards while ensuring zero unnecessary disruption to overall train operations,” ER CPRO Shibram Majhi said.
(IANS)
