Train services were disrupted in Sealdah following a protest

Train services were disrupted in Sealdah main section for about three hours on Saturday with commuters staging protests at Sodepur station against an alleged irregularity in train services during a modernization work.

The protest began since 10 am during which the agitators staged a blockade. 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. "This protest was completely unexpected. We had declared scheduled modernization of interlocking system from September 7 till September 10.

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

The passengers also said wrong announcements had compounded their hardship. In the last two days, about 130 EMU locals had been canceled mostly running on the shorter routes, the passengers said.