Train communication on Rangpur-Lalmonirhat-Bogura route remained suspended since Tuesday afternoon following the derailment of six bogies of a train near Pirgachha Railway outer signal in Pirgachha upazila of Rangpur district.
The incident has disrupted train services connecting Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, and Kurigram with Dhaka and several northern districts.
Railway sources said the train, which left Santahar for Lalmonirhat, derailed while entering Pirgacha Station around 1pm.
Passengers on the train panicked and jumped off, leaving 15 people injured, including women.
Pirgacha Station Master Yusuf Ali confirmed the derailment of six carriages of the Padma-Rag Express. The matter has been reported to the Lalmonirhat Railway Division office.
Services will resume once a rescue train arrives and the derailed carriages are cleared, but no rescue train had arrived by 3:30pm when the report was filed.
Passengers complained that they had been waiting since 1pm and no alternative arrangements were made by the railway authorities.
Fahmida Begum, a passenger travelling with her three children, said several carriages suddenly derailed, causing panic. In the chaos, passengers injured their feet while jumping from the train. She alleged the derailment occurred due to long-standing lack of track maintenance.
Shafiar Rahman, another passenger, said he had been waiting for two and a half hours with no information from the station master or other officials about when the rescue train would arrive.
An unnamed railway official confirmed that six carriages had derailed. The official said the derailed carriages would be cleared after the rescue train arrives, but the process might take until night.
Services are not expected to resume before 9 –10pm, the official added.
Due to the derailment, train services between Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, northern districts, and the rest of the country remain suspended, Pirgacha Station Master Yusuf Ali said.
