The system is electrified with 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead line and runs on 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge track.

Howrah, Sealdah and Kolkata railway station are the three major terminals serving the network in the city.

[1] The first train ran between Howrah and Hooghly stations on 15 August 1854 and was operated by the East Indian Railway (EIR).

Regular services on the 38.6 km (24.0 mi) line were introduced on the same day, with stops at Bally, Serampore and Chandannagore stations.

[16][17][18][19][20][21] Junction stations are marked in bold The South Eastern line in Kolkata consists of three major corridors, which divide into two branches as they run into the suburban satellite towns.

Two corridors—one local and the other through—follow the South Eastern Railway and run from Howrah Junction to Midnapore, a distance of 128 km (80 mi).

[22][23] On 6 September 2009, then Railway Minister, Mamata Banerjee announced the introduction of Ladies Special local trains, namely Matribhumi (i.e. motherland), in the Kolkata suburban section.

The Sealdah–Gede line, considered to be mainline, terminates in Gede, a small town on the India–Bangladesh Border with a length of 116 km (72 mi).

[26] Sealdah division's first Matribhumi local started in October 2018; it was the first all-women passenger train in Indian Railway history.

This occurred when Eastern Railway withdrew the decision to allow male passengers to travel on Matribhumi local.

The main line starts at Sealdah terminating at Namkhana railway station with a length of 110 km (68 mi).

[18] This corridor has a famous tourist spot, the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, where Ramakrishna Paramhansa served as a priest.

[18][34] A new line is under construction between Amta and Bagnan with a length of 16 km (9.9 mi) under the jurisdiction of the South Eastern Railway sanctioned in 2010–11.

Another line is in progress between Masalandpur and Swarupnagar of 12.30 km, contract work has been awarded to RITES for soil testing.

[35] On the southern part of the Eastern Railways side, there is an expansion of the line between Canning and Jharkhali with a length of 42 km (26 mi).

The second route is from Krishnanagar City Junction to Lalgola, which is under the jurisdiction of Eastern Railway with a length of 128 km (80 mi).

[50][51] The Electric Multiple Units (EMUs) for the Kolkata suburban services were built domestically at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Perambur; the first EMU rolled out in September 1962.

[9][26] The Howrah division of Eastern Railways has a rolling stock of 12-coach EMUs made by Jessop, ICF and Titagarh Wagons.

MEMU Rakes from the Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala (RCF) and Diesel multiple units (DEMUs)) from the ICF are in service.

The Sealdah division has rolling stock including nine and 12-coach EMUs, also made by Jessop, ICF and Titagarh Wagons.

[52] DEMU trains made by ICF and MEMU from Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala (RCF) are in service.

Almost all the EMU Units used by the Kolkata Suburban Railway are equipped with a GPS-based passenger information system.

[64][65][66] Currently, the network has a 25 kV overhead catenary electrification system, with 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) Indian broad gauge tracks.

The axle counter system is used to detect the presence of a train in an absolute block section, point zone area of a station and level crossings.

The driver of the Sealdah–Lalgola passenger train which left from platform seven had overshot the starter signal and entered the down main line but stopped upon noticing the Bangaon–Sealdah local, which was coming from the opposite direction.

[71] Fourteen passengers were injured when an explosion took place inside a compartment of the Sealdah–Krishnanagar local train early on the morning of 12 May 2015.

[72] On 17 November 2015, a 40-year-old man, who had boarded the Howrah–Bandel Matribhumi special local for women only, fell off the train and died between Uttarpara and Hind Motor stations.

When the man realized a station was approaching, he ran to grab the handle but missed it and fell from the train to his death.

[77] On 2 October 2019, A local train coming from Masagram was derailed, when it was entering on Platform no.6 of Howrah railway station.

[78] On 15 March 2020, a massive fire broke out in the Salimpur slum area which lies near the Dhakuria railway station track at around 8:30 am.