Train services will resume from tomorrow (Thursday) on a limited scale during the relaxed curfew hours.
For now, short-distance train services will resume on a limited scale, as per the decision taken in this regard at a meeting including Bangladesh Railway officials on Tuesday.
Railway Director Traffic (Commercial) Md Nahid Hasan Khan confirmed the matter to TBS and said short distance local, mail and commuter trains will start running from Thursday while the curfew is relaxed.
No decision, however, was taken on resuming operations for intercity trains. The decision to this end will be announced later, he added.
Earlier on July 27, Sardar Shahadat Ali, director general of Bangladesh Railway said, “We have not made any decision over
passenger train operation till today. We will operate once we find the railway is safe for the passengers. It may take time. Now we only operate oil trains with the support of BGB.”
On July 24, the railway authorities had decided to resume operation. But at night on the same day, they backtracked on the decision to resume passenger train operations from July 25.
Rail communication remained suspended since July 18 in the face of obstruction in Dhaka’s Mohakhali amid the quota reform movement.
According to the authorities, the unrest damaged railway lines in different parts of the country.
Earlier on July 27, the Railway officials said that miscreants caused severe damages to at least 40 bogies of different trains of the East Zone of Bangladesh Railway while set four others bogies on fire during countrywide violence following quota reform movement.
Officials of the East Zone of Bangladesh Railway said the state run transportation sector suffered a loss of Tk 21.70 crore during the nationwide violence and subversive acts.
The information was revealed by a probe body formed by the Bangladesh Railway.
A number of locomotives and bogies were also vandalized during the violence, it said.
On July 18, the quota reform protesters enforced a “complete shutdown”.
The railway authorities suspended movement of trains from July 18.
Sushil Kumar Haldar, chief signal and telecommunication engineer of Bangladesh Railway, said a probe body was formed by the East Zone to ascertain the damage caused by the attacks. “The commercial department suffered the most, followed by the mechanical department,” he said.
According to the report, seven compartments of ‘Sonar Bangla Express’ were vandalized while 13 compartments of ‘Chattala Express’, six of ‘Jamalpur Express’, eight of ‘Parabat Express’ and two of ‘Kishoreganj Express’ were vandalized during the nationwide violence.
Besides, four compartments of ‘Kishoreganj Express’ were set on fire while the locomotives of Chattala Express, Kishoreganj Express and Karnaphuli Commuter trains were also vandalized during the mayhem.
Meanwhile, the railway has incurred a huge loss due to the suspension of train movement on different routes as the authorities concerned of Bangladesh Railway have decided to return the money for tickets purchased for July 18 to 23, worth around Tk 16.28 crore.
The report said that the railway authorities have to refund Tk 11.70 crore to the passengers of Dhaka division under East Zone and Tk 4.58 crore to the Chattogram division passengers.
Saiful Islam, Manager of Railway East Zone Division (Chattogram), said, “It is not possible to refund the money for the tickets sold to the passengers until the internet is fully operational.”
No decision has been taken yet about the resumption of the train movement, he said.
The authorities concerned started operation of oil-laden trains from Friday. Four-oil-laden trains moved from Chattogram Railway Station, escorted by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members.
