Suburban trains were choc-a-bloc with passengers at Sealdah and Howrah divisions of Eastern Railway
Commuters were seen travelling in crowded local trains on Monday, thumbing their noses to the restrictions imposed by the state government a day ago to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Metro Railway coaches also ran almost jam-packed in the peak hours, with people barely maintaining distance from one another.
The West Bengal government, in an order issued on Sunday, capped the number of passengers in local trains to 50 per cent of the seating capacity. It has also limited the hours of service to 7 pm.
Metro Railway has made smart cards mandatory for passengers to avail its services, discontinuing token issuance.
The new set of rules will be applicable till January 15.
Suburban trains were choc-a-bloc with passengers in the busy Sealdah and Howrah divisions of Eastern Railway during the day as some of them pushed each other to make their way inside the coaches.
In the Kharagpur Division of South Eastern Railway, too, the situation was no different.
Eastern Railway spokesperson Ekalabya Chakraborti said suburban trains will leave the station of origin from 5 am to 7 pm as per the existing timetable.
Other mail, express, long-distance passenger trains, parcel and freight services would run according to the usual schedule, he told reporters.