Fulfilling the demand by the residents of Nilphamari for direct rail service for the past 52 years, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday inaugurated a new passenger train -- Chilahati Express, which will run on the Chilahati-Dhaka-Chilahati route.
The railway station is an important intersection in Nilphamari as the Haldibari-Chilahati route was revived recently to resume rail communication between Bangladesh and India.
Alongside goods-laden wagons, the inter-country Mitali Express is running on this route.
The premier launched the operation of the train by blowing a whistle and waving a flag at a ceremony held at Chilahati Railway Station in Nilphamari as the chief guest, joining virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban in Dhaka, at 10am.
With 792 passengers, the train set off for Dhaka soon after the inauguration.
Marking the occasion, locals from all strata of life started thronging the station since morning. They were eagerly waiting for the train service to start.
Alongside the station premises, several queues of people stretching up to seven kilometres on both sides of the rail track were seen waiting to witness the historic moment braving the scorching summer heat.
The new Chilahati Express, having the capacity of carrying 800 passengers with modern facilities, will ply across the Chilahati-Dhaka-Chilahati route six-day in a week.
Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan spoke at the function from Chilahati end in Nilphamari, while lawmaker Asaduzzaman Noor MP (Nilphamari-2) and other local MPs, among others, were present there.
Principal Secretary Tofazzel Hossain Miah conducted the event, while Railways Secretary Muhammad Humayun Kabir delivered the welcome speech from Ganabhaban end.
Dream comes true
Azizul Islam of the district's Domar upazila said that they were happy as their decades-long wait ended through the start of the train service.
“That's why the station and its adjoining areas are packed with enthusiastic people. I also did not want to miss the chance to witness this,” said the 45-year-old.
Amir Hossain, 55, from the same upazila, said: “We're happy that the train will greatly help social and economic development in the area.
“We thank the prime minister and the minister for making this happen,” he concluded.
Since 2009 after assuming power, the Awami League government in the last 14 years has installed a total of 740km of new railway tracks, while converting the 280km of rail track into dual-gauge and rehabilitating 1,308km of rail track.
During the period, a total of 114 locomotives were collected along with 623 new passenger carriages and 516 goods-carrying wagons. In addition, the signalling systems of 130 railway stations have been modernised. Currently, 142 new trains are carrying passengers on different routes.
