Chattogram-Cox's Bazar rail line will be inaugurated on November 11 instead of November 12.
Public Relations Officer Md Siraj-Ud-Daula Khan of Railway Ministry confirmed this on Thursday.
He said that the date for inauguration of the Cox's Bazar-Dohazari rail line has been refixed and brought forward by one day. All preparations have already been made to inaugurate the much-desired rail line.
Tourist city Cox's Bazar will be added to the railway network of the country on November 11 (Saturday). Chattogram-Cox's Bazar rail line will be opened to passengers after its inauguration by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Tourism city Cox's Bazar is waiting for the beginning of a new era. It is expected that train will go to Cox's Bazar from Chattogram's Dohazari. On the way to Sea view and enjoying the beauty of nature, train passenger will first get a maritime atmosphere by coming to the country's only iconic railway station built in Cox's Bazar. Not only for commuting, this station is multi-dimensional. Now the eye catching iconic station is visible.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Cox's Bazar-2 constituency Ashek Ullah Rafiq said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate train service in the morning of November 11. Dohazari-Cox's Bazar rail line is much desired by the people of Cox's Bazar. After that he will go to Maheshkhali and address a public public meeting in the afternoon. Preparations have already started for the Prime Minister's arrival. This meeting will turn into a sea of human.
According to railway sources, after the inauguration, passenger trains may start running on this route on December 1. The trial train on the Cox's Bazar route will pass over the bridge on November 7.
Cox's Bazar residents have long dreamed of establishing a railway connection to the tourist city. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is making that dream a reality. This long dream of Cox's Bazar residents is becoming a reality this month.
The work of laying railway line on Kalurghat bridge for running trains on Cox's Bazar route completed on scheduled time. Now the experimental train of Cox's Bazar route can go over the Kalurghat bridge, said the engineers concerned.
Project Director of Dohazari-Cox's Bazar Railway Line Engineer Md Sabuktagin said that the experimental train on the Cox's Bazar route will pass over the Kalurghat Bridge on November 7.
The work of Dhaka-Dohazari-Cox's Bazar railway line has been completed. Engineers working on the project have run the trolley several times to correct all the defects and make it passable. After completion of the line work, remaining work of few stations and signalling work are going on. After the launch of the experimental train on November 7, the Prime Minister will inaugurate the newly constructed railway line from Cox's Bazar to Dohazari-Cox's Bazar on November 11. He said that although there is a proposal to run two trains initially, one inter-city train will run on this route from Dhaka on the first day. The distance from Dhaka to Cox's Bazar via Chattogram is 551 km.
According to railway sources, the non-AC i.e. 515 for non-AC seats and 984 for AC seats have been proposed. The rent for AC seat will be 1132 taka including 15 percent VAT. Tk 1363 for AC cabin and Tk 2036 for AC berth including VAT.
Non-AC bus fare on Dhaka-Cox's Bazar route is minimum Tk 800. Rent in AC is from 1200 to 2500 taka. Cox's Bazar train will cost less than the bus fare. The fare on the train via Padma Bridge is higher than the bus fare. The rent has increased due to bridge charges. There is no such complication in the case of Cox's Bazar. Train fare on Dhaka-Chattogram route is 285 to 1180 taka. He said that the experimental train will run on Dohazari-Cox's Bazar route from Chattogram station on November 7. All our preparations are done. Kalurghat Bridge has been made suitable for train movement. Work on Dohazari-Cox's Bazar newly constructed rail line has been completed. Now some stations are left to work and signalling work is going on.
Railway Eastern Bridge Engineer Jisan Dutta said that the work of laying the train line on the Kalurghat Bridge has been completed. Cox's Bazar route trains can move. We have completed the train line work of the bridge within the stipulated time so that train movement can be inaugurated on the Dohazari-Cox's Bazar route. It will take till December to complete the remaining work.
The project engineers said that some stations are still under construction. Recruitment of manpower is going on at the station. Signal system and digital telecommunication system are in progress. After the trial run and launch, it may take another one to two months to go into commercial passenger transport.