South Eastern Railway cancels 32 trains till November 27 | Check details

Thousands of daily commuters in Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal woke up to bad news on Tuesday as South Eastern Railway abruptly cancels 32 local and passenger trains in the Chakradharpur Division till Thursday, November 27 because most loco pilots and assistant loco pilots are busy appearing for mandatory promotional examinations. With almost the entire crew strength tied up in exam halls instead of cockpits, the railway had no choice but to suspend services on key routes connecting Tatanagar, Rourkela, Jharsuguda, Barbil, Chaibasa, Purulia and Adra.

MEMU and passenger trains that office-goers, students and small traders depend on have simply vanished from timetables for three full days, forcing people to scramble for overcrowded buses or expensive private cars.The worst-affected corridors are Tatanagar–Rourkela, Tatanagar–Badampahar, Tatanagar–Barbil and Chakradharpur–Rourkela, where every single MEMU service stands cancelled. Four trains in Adra Division, including Adra–Asansol and Medinipur–Adra MEMUs, have also been axed. Several long-distance express trains have been short-terminated – like Jhargram–Dhanbad Express will now end at Bokaro Steel City, and Barddhaman–Hatia MEMU will stop at Gomoh.

Few trains like Howrah–Tatanagar Express and Kharagpur–Hatia Express will run on revised timings. Railway officials say announcements are being made repeatedly at stations and helpline numbers are active to reduce confusion.While the examinations are unavoidable for crew promotions and safety compliance, passengers are angry at the short notice and lack of backup arrangements. Many have already bought advance tickets and now face cancelled journeys or last-minute plan changes. South Eastern Railway authorities promised normal services to resume from Friday 28 November once the exams end.