Eastern Railways delays train at Howrah station to help Mumbai 'baraat' reach Guwahati on time

A connecting train was detained at Howrah station for a few minutes by Eastern Railways to allow a 'baraat' party from Mumbai to reach their venue in Guwahati on time, according to officials.

The decision was made in response to a post on X, where Chandrasekhar Wagh, a member of a 34-strong 'baraat' party (relatives accompanying the groom) from Mumbai, expressed his helplessness to the railway authorities. Wagh explained that the Mumbai-Howrah Gitanjali Express, scheduled to arrive at Howrah at 1.05 pm, had been delayed, and they feared missing the Howrah-Guwahati Saraighat Express, which was set to depart for Assam around 4 pm.

@RailMinIndia @AshwiniVaishnaw @nerailwaygkp @EasternRailway Need urgent help, we are group of 35 people, travelling via Gitanjali express for my marriage which is delayed by 3.5 hrs, Need to catch Sarighat express at 4:00 pm which seems difficult. Kindly help. My no. 9029597736 pic.twitter.com/a3ULEXHJfs

— Chandu (@chanduwagh21) November 15, 2024

A senior official of the Eastern Railways told PTI that the Howrah DRM received an urgent message from higher authorities of the Indian Railways to do the needful after the tweet surfaced on X.

Following this, the railway authorities delayed the departure of Saraighat Express and ensured swift arrival of Gitanjali Express to Howrah.

As Gitanjali Express arrived at Howrah at 4.08 pm, authorities ensured swift movement of the 'baraat' party members on battery-operated vehicles from platform number 24 in new complex to platform number 9 in old complex, where the Saraighat Express was waiting for them, he said.

As they boarded the train, it left for Guwahati with a delay of a few minutes.

The ER official stated, "We got the help and support of all the passengers of the two trains and the Railway Minister, Chief Commercial Manager, DRM and other senior railway officials took every step to ensure the young groom did not miss his marriage."

IR arranged to detain Saraighat Express at Howrah for a few minutes so that a marriage party with Dulha coming by Geetanjali Express and going to Guwahati can catch the train, 12345 Up from HWH. The marriage party has expressed their thanks to Railways for this helping gesture. pic.twitter.com/eBgRzewQ21

— Eastern Railway (@EasternRailway) November 15, 2024

"It is our moral responsibility to deliver services like these," he added.

The ER, in a post on X, said, "IR arranged to detain Saraighat Express at Howrah for a few minutes so that a marriage party with 'dulha' coming by Gitanjali Express and going to Guwahati can catch the train. The marriage party has expressed their thanks to Railways for this helping gesture."