Commuters block movement of trains at Sodepur station in Sealdah

Commuters blocked movement of trains at Sodepur station in Sealdah division since 10 am on Saturday protesting non-stoppage of some trains during a scheduled modernization work.

The irate passengers complained that galloping EMU trains that were scheduled to stop at the station during the auto-signalling work did not stop there.

They said wrong announcements had also compounded their hardship. A Railway police official said the protestors ransacked the station master's cabin and also indulged in stone-pelting incidents.

The blockade was, however, lifted after about three hours, Superintendent of Railway Police, Ashish Biswas said.

In the last two days about 130 EMU locals had been cancelled mostly on the shorter routes, the passengers said. "This protest was completely unexpected. We had declared scheduled modernisation of interlocking system from September 7 till September 10.

We had publicised it through various channels including advertisements," Eastern Railways spokesperson Ravi Mahapatra said. "If passengers do not cooperate, how can modernisation and safety work be completed?" he asked. 

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