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New Delhi: As West Bengal heads into assembly elections, travel activity has started increasing across the country. Many residents working in other states are planning to return home to vote. This has led to a rise in passenger demand on trains.

To manage this rush, the Railways has introduced a series of special trains. The objective is to ensure that voters can reach their polling stations on time. Around 16 special trains are operating through the Bilaspur route, with some already running and others scheduled closer to polling dates.

Voting in West Bengal will take place on April 23 and April 29. Ahead of this, train movement has improved on key routes. The Howrah route, which had been facing delays, has seen better punctuality over the past week. This change is being linked to the election period.

Railway authorities have focused on cities with a large number of migrant workers from West Bengal, Assam and South India. Special trains have been introduced from Pune, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Valsad to Santragachi and Kharagpur. These routes will support passengers travelling from Maharashtra and Gujarat.

In the Bilaspur zone, routes such as Durg, Gondia and Itwari are expected to help passengers heading towards West Bengal. Similarly, in the Patna and Raxaul corridor, services are aimed at regions like Malda, Dinajpur, Birbhum and Haldia, which are important during elections.

Railways has also revised earlier cancellations. The Shalimar LTT Express, which was cancelled due to maintenance work at Gondia, has now been restored before the elections. A new weekly train between Shalimar and Itwari has also been introduced.

Several special services have been announced to meet the demand:

• LTT–Santragachi–LTT will run from April 21 to July 24 with 13 trips in each direction
• Hatia–LTT–Hatia will operate from April 20 to June 15 with 9 trips
• Patna–Charlapalli–Patna will run between April 8 and May 27 on Mondays and Wednesdays with 15 trips each way
• Tirupati–Raxaul–Tirupati will operate on April 13, 20 and 27
• Gondia–Raxaul–Gondia will run from April 25 to June 27
• Charlapalli–Raxaul–Charlapalli will run from April 12 to May 31
• Pune–Santragachi–Pune will operate on April 15, 17, 22 and 25
• Valsad–Kharagpur–Valsad will run on April 15 and 22
• Udhna–Santragachi–Udhna will run on April 17, 22 and 24
• Durg–Shalimar–Durg will operate on April 22
• Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Itwari–Malda Town–Itwari will run on April 19, 20 and 26