In the wake of growing attacks on the railway network by blockade supporters, the Chittagong Railway authorities reduced speed of all trains that have grossly shaken the regular schedule of trains.
Feared by the damages caused during the repeated spates of opposition-enforced hartal and blockade programmes in last few months, the authorities reduced the speed limit of trains to 40 km which usually remains 60-70km per hour.
The authorities also decided to run a patrol train before every train to avoid further damage or casualties which has drastically reduced the speed of trains.
As a consequence of the decision, the commuters are largely suffering these days as the regular schedule is yet to be restored, alleged a number of passengers in the port city.
Though initially welcomed by passengers, the decision is now causing severe sufferings to commuters as they have to wait for hours on the platform amid the chill of winter.
Trains were delayed by four to five hours and sometimes even by 10 hours, claimed a number of passengers.
Abu Bakar Siddique, a Dhaka-bound passenger, said he, along with his wife and a daughter, started journey on the Subarna Express on January 13 around 4pm which was scheduled to start for the capital around 6:40am.
“My daughter fell sick because of waiting on the platform amid the bone-chilling cold for so long,” he said.
Sarwar Hasan Jamil, a job-seeker, was found waiting at the station for the Dhaka-bound Mahanagar Godhuli. The train arrived around 8pm on Thursday which was scheduled to leave the station around 3:30pm.
“If I cannot reach Dhaka in the morning, I will fail to take part in a recruitment examination at a private bank,” he said.
Jamil Anwar Saimun, a friend of Sarwar, reached the capital around 3am on Thursday after starting his journey from the port city around 2pm on Wednesday by Mahanagar Provati.
Since October last year the hartal and blockade supporters had been sabotaging the sector by removing fishplates and had claimed a number of innocent lives, said sources in the railway sector.
AA Shamsul Alam, station manager of Chittagong railway station, said not only commuters but also the employees of the station were suffering because of the disorder in the schedule.
“The trains are plying on single lines with a lower speed while a patrol train is running in front of every train for ensuring security and resist sabotage on the tracks,” he said.
Makbul Hossain, general manager of Bangladesh Railways (East), told the Dhaka Tribune that the railway authorities took the previous decision for the sake of public safety.
He hoped that as the situation was normal now, the usual speed limit would be restored within one or two days.