Rail communication on the Chittagong-Dohajaree route resumed yesterday, fifteen days after a bridge partially collapsed in Boalkhali upazila and caused the derailment of a locomotive and three oil-carrying wagons.
Although the rail tracks had been repaired a few days back, the half-submerged locomotive was finally pulled out on Saturday, said Iftekhar Firoz, the divisional traffic officer for Bangladesh Railway (East).
“We operated a trial train to examine the line yesterday [Saturday] and regular train movement resumed today [Sunday],” he said.
However, two probe bodies formed to look into the accident are yet to submit their report – which they were supposed to hand in by June 23.
BR (East) Divisional Manager Mofizur Rahman said the probe bodies could not complete their investigations even after the deadline was extended once; now the committee heads are seeking another extension to finish their task.
On June 19, a locomotive and three oil wagons carrying about 90,000 litres of furnace oil derailed when the Number 24 Bridge – locally known as Shakerpool – collapsed at Bengura area of the upazila.
The accident left two train drivers injured and caused thousands of litres of oil to spill into a canal. The oil eventually spread over to Karnaphuli and Halda Rivers.
Following the incident, two BR engineers were suspended for their negligence in duty.
Meanwhile, the supply of furnace oil to the 100MW Dohajaree Peaking Power Plant remained suspended for the past two weeks.
“We tackled the crisis using our stock, while the oil supply will resume like regular basis,” the plant’s Manager Arifur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune.