Bangladesh Railway has finallyannounced thestart an intercity train service between Dhaka and Thakurgaon – a longstanding demand of the Thakurgaon residents.
The railway authorities have decided to run two intercity trains of the Dhaka-Dinajpur route which run go via Thakurgaon, to Panchagarh.
The service is scheduled to be inaugurated on November 10. Tickets have already been sold for the first train, which will start from the Thakurgaon-Panchagarh rail station.
Despite Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s announcement for a direct train service between the capital and northwestern district, it took a long time to start the service.
The project, costing around Tk982 crore, was undertaken in October 2010 by the Ministry of Railways. It initially included modernization and expansion of the 150km of train tracks between Dinajpur and Panchagarh via Thakurgaon. The government also planned to upgrade the meter-gauge tracks to dual-gauge.
The project was scheduled to be completed by 2013, but the deadline was postponed twice. In September 2014, the construction work was handed over to Toma Group and Macro Constructions, who were given a fresh deadline of July 2016 to re-construct 90km of train track with three large bridges and 131 small bridges.
The constructors missed the deadline again and were able to complete the project by December 2016.
However, the railway authorities still did not start the direct train service between Dhaka and Thakurgaon. Instead, Railway Minister Mazibul Hoque inaugurated a shuttle train service between Dinajpur and Panchagarh via Thakurgaon on July 17, 2017.
The direct Dhaka-Thakurgaon train service, which was originally promised, will take more time to start. The railway officials could not confirm when they would be able to start the direct train service.
Locals of the region have long been demanding a direct Thakurgaon-Dhaka intercity train service, said Bangladesh Railway official Mihir Kanti Guha.
“The residents of Panchagarh and Dinajpur have to come to Dinajpur to take the intercity train, which is a hassle for them as getting tickets is difficult,” he added.
Kazi Md Rafiqul Alam, another Railway official, said on Saturday: “If the two train services are launched, people from the two districts can easily travel to Dhaka. It will have a positive effect on the economy of the two districts and it will be good on all ends. Besides, the income of our railway service will also increase.”
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Thakurgaon Station Master Akhtarul Islam said the train tickets would not be available for online purchase, as the equipment necessary for the service has not been installed at the train station yet.
“The facility of online ticket purchase will be available as soon as computers and other equipment are installed here,” he added.