Eastern Railway cancels, reschedules several trains due to ‘Agnipath’ protests

Kolkata: The Eastern Railway on Sunday canceled or rescheduled several trains connecting Kolkata and other places in West Bengal with northern parts of the country, including the Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, owing to the stir against the Centre’s ‘Agnipath’ scheme. An ER official said the Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express departed Howrah station at 3.15 pm, while the Poorva Express will leave at 4.50 pm.

A number of express trains, including the Howrah-Kalka Netaji Express, Kolkata-Amritsar Express, Yog Nagari Rishikesh Doon Express, Sealdah-Jaynagar Gangasagar Express, and the Kolkata-Gorakhpur Purvanchal Express have been canceled for the day, the official said.

There have been protests at various places against the government’s new short-term contractual recruitment program in the armed forces.

The official said the Howrah-Dibrugarh Kamrup Express has also been canceled for Sunday due to operational constraints.

Assam has been hit by floods in several districts, which has crippled transportation services.