2 min readSuratApr 23, 2026 04:46 AM IST
Similar to the arrangements made during last year’s Bihar assembly elections, special trains are being run from Surat to West Bengal, where voting for the state polls will take place on Thursday and April 29. The first such train left for Howrah from Surat’s Udhna railway station with 1,800 people on board this past Sunday, and more were scheduled to leave for West Bengal cities, a railway official said.
Udhna railway station in-charge Y S Thakur said, “On April 19, an FTR train left from Surat to Howrah; another went to Santragachi on April 20, and another to Durgapur on April 21 and 22. Two more left for Santragachi and Malda on April 22, and two more will leave for Durgapur on April 23…”
Surat Bengali Samaj Welfare Trust president and a local BJP leader Basudev Adhikari had written to the Western Railway general manager in Mumbai, requesting him to make arrangements for “Summer Special Trains” from Surat to Howrah. He had sought the operation of full tariff rate or FTR trains on April 19, 24 and 26.
Adhikari told this reporter: “We are helping Bengali artisans to get their railway tickets confirmed for their journey to West Bengal. The peak summer season and elections in West Bengal are upon us, so people wish to go to their hometowns. We have collected forms from 5000 such people..
