'Andolan Express' may turn out to be a local train

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The Howrah-Singur 'Andolan Express' whose introduction from August 1 was announced by Railway minister Mamata Banerjee, may turn out to be a local train.

Operating an express train for a 34-km distance between Howrah and Singur will not be commercially viable for want of passengers, railway sources said.

"It takes a local train 58 minutes to travel this distance. Why would a passenger pay double the fare to travel in an express train?" the sources asked.

This is seen as an apparent bid to highlight the name of Singur from where she began her 'andolan' (campaign) since mid-2007 against land acquisition from unwilling farmers for the Tata Motors Nano small car project.

Pointing out that 24 pairs of local trains are run daily via Singur between Howrah and the pilgrim town Tarakeswar, the sources said that an additional two pairs are operated daily between Howrah and Singur.

According to the sources, the train is likely to be named 'Andolan Local,' deviating from the tradition where local trains are identified only by numbers.

The sources said that last-minute details of the three 'Duranta' class trains between Delhi-Pune, Howrah-Mumbai and Sealdah-Delhi were being worked out with the Railway minister having announced their launch from August.

According to the sources, details like the maximum speed and the number of technical stops are being worked out.

'Duranta' class trains will take two hours less than Rajdhani Express trains for their journey and the fares will also be lower. The trains will only have technical stops en route where boarding and disembarking will not be allowed.

Meanwhile, an Eastern Railway press release said that eligible passengers can avail of the monthly season tickets (MST) under the 'Izzat' scheme from August one on production of income certificates given by the district magistrates or the Lok Sabha member of their respective areas.

Divisional Railway Managers (DRMs) can also issue income certificates under exceptional circumstances.

Rajya Sabha members can request divisional railway managers to issue MTS to people from their respective districts, the release said.

Income certificates would be valid for two years from issue, it said adding the station masters will issue the MST on production of the original certificates and the photocopies would be preserved for future reference.