Train schedules collapse

Thousands of Dhaka-bound passengers suffered long delays due to a collapse in train schedules on Dinajpur-Dhaka and Rangpur-Dhaka routes in the 72 hours till yesterday.

Desperate to return to the capital after spending a prolonged Eid vacation with their families, passengers got stranded on train stations for several hours.

The Dhaka-bound trains operated five to seven hours behind schedule, said the passengers. The Rangpur Express, the lone train plying the Rangpur-Dhaka route, is running five hours late, said railway officials.  

Schedules of Akota Express and Drutojan Express, which ply the Dhaka-Dinajpur route, have also collapsed, said railway officials in Dinajpur. All the six special trains launched between Dinajpur's Parbatipur and Dhaka on the occasion of Eid, are also running seven hours behind the schedule.

A passenger, Azhar Ali, said he had arrived at Parbatipur railway station to board a special train scheduled for 6:15am on Monday. But the train left for Dhaka at 2:15pm, he said, adding that he had to spend eight hours at the station. 

There are five power cars for the six special trains; therefore, one train remains unused, said Shovon Roy, station master of Parbatipur railway station. However, he said the situation would improve within a week.

Goutam, another passenger, said he was supposed to start his journey from Rangpur railway station at 8:00pm on Monday. But the train left at 1:30am -- Tuesday early hours, he added.

During a visit to the stations, this correspondent found the intercity trains overcrowded. Each coach is carrying passengers three to four times more than its capacities.

Contacted on Tuesday, Nazmul Hossain, divisional engineer of Lalmonirhat division of Bangladesh Railway's West Zone, said they had instructed the locomotive drivers to run the trains slowly for passengers' safety.  As a result, slow-moving trains are running behind the schedule, he added.  

Officials of Parbatipur station yesterday said the situation remained the same.  However, Rangpur Station Super Abdul Jabbar said the situation had been improving. "From today (yesterday), the trains will leave on time," he added.