After a four-day suspension caused by severe flooding in Feni district, train services are set to resume on the Dhaka-Chittagong route on Monday night.
Meanwhile, the train service on Chittagong-Cox's Bazar route has already launched.
A special train departed from Chittagong to Cox's Bazar on Monday morning.
However, due to significant damage to a 10-kilometre stretch of railway in Feni, trains will operate at a reduced speed of 20 km/h.
The train services on fulle scale are expected to resume on Tuesday, according to Bangladesh Railway.
Railway sources indicate that the 10-kilometer track from Feni to Fazilpur was severely damaged by the floodwaters, which eroded the soil and displaced stones, sleepers, and rails.
The Railway Engineering Department estimates that it will take at least 15 days to fully repair the track, as the underlying soil remains soft.
On Monday afternoon, senior railway officials, including the Director General of Bangladesh Railway and the General Manager of Eastern Railway, inspected the damaged track and decided to resume limited train operations from Monday night.
A railway control order stated that train services on the Dhaka-Chittagong route, suspended since Thursday, will resume at night.
The Turna Express (No. 742) will leave Dhaka's Kamalapur Railway Station for Chittagong at 11:15pm, and the Dhaka Mail will depart at 11:30pm for Chittagong.
Container and fuel trains from Chittagong Port Yard will also resume operations on Tuesday morning.
Md Nazmul Islam, General Manager of Railway Eastern Region, explained that train services were halted due to safety concerns following the severe flooding in Feni, which caused extensive damage to a 10-kilometre stretch of track.
He added that while limited train operations are resuming on Monday to support the national economy and ensure the smooth movement of people, full services, including cargo, container, and fuel trains, will begin on Tuesday.
The Railway Engineering Department reported that although the Dhaka-Chittagong railway is a double track, the up line (Chittagong to Dhaka) sustained the most damage.
As a result, trains are currently operating on the down line (Dhaka to Chittagong) at a reduced speed.
Previously, meter-gauge trains on this route ran at speeds of 65 to 75 km/h.
Railway officials expect that train services will return to normal speed on both tracks within 15 days, once the soil, stone, and track renovations are completed.
The flood situation in Comilla and Feni worsened last Wednesday, with several upazilas in Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria, Comilla, Feni, Noakhali, Khagrachari, and Chittagong inundated by heavy rainfall and runoff from India.
The railway line in Feni was submerged, forcing several trains from Chittagong and other districts, including Dhaka, to turn back before reaching Feni.
In response, railway authorities suspended all train services indefinitely from Thursday afternoon. Road communication between the capital and hill districts, including Chittagong and Cox's Bazar, was also disrupted when floodwaters rose to chest level at the Lalpur section of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway. As an emergency measure, three pairs of trains transported passengers between Dhaka, Laksam, and Akhaura on Saturday and Sunday.
Abu Jafar Mia, Chief Engineer of Railway Eastern Region, said that inspections of the damaged railway line are ongoing. The true extent of the damage will be assessed following these inspections. Two railway tracks were washed away by the flood, and renovation work has already begun in some areas.
He added that it will take some time before trains can operate at full speed following the completion of the renovation.
Meanwhile, the Cox's Bazar special train has been running on the Chittagong-Cox's Bazar route as scheduled since 7am on Monday morning. Additionally, shuttle trains from Chittagong Railway Station to Chittagong University have been operating according to their regular timetable.
In anticipation of the resumption of services, the railway's commercial department has started selling tickets for various dates, both online and at ticket counters.