Kolkata, Nov 11 : After almost eight months of suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the suburban railway services resumed its operation in West Bengal on Wednesday. As many as 696 suburban train services were resumed in the state after months of lockdown in the wake of a global pandemic. The railways have appealed to the people to maintain strict Covid-19 health protocols as the pandemic still continues. Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said on Twitter: "Railways to operate 696 suburban services in West Bengal from Wednesday onwards, ensuring safe and convenient movement for the passengers of Kolkata." The Eastern Railway (ER) also urged all commuters to maintain strict guidelines, like using hand sanitisers, wearing masks and maintaining physical distancing norms while travelling by local trains. Officials in the South Eastern Railway (SER) also said that necessary arrangements have been made to sanitise coaches on a daily basis to ensure safety of the passengers. They also deployed railway and civil forces to monitor passengers' movements, sources said. The Kolkata Metro also resumed their operations with an increased number of daily trains on weekdays up by 25 per cent from Wednesday. The Metro Railway decided to run trains every seven minutes during the morning and evening peak hours. A total of 190 trains will operate on a daily basis on weekdays. Services from Dum Dum in the north and Kavi Subhash in the south will start at 8 a.m. and the last train from these stations will depart at 9 p.m. everyday. /IANS