People suffer as schedule for trains collapses
Thousands of passengers suffered immensely yesterday as the schedule of trains heading for the country's western destinations collapsed.
Around 30 trains bound for the northwestern and central regions got delayed by two to three hours after a train accident caused the closure of one of two lines in Gazipur's Joydebpur on Friday morning, said officials.
Although the railway authorities could clear the line around 5:30pm yesterday, it would take some more time for the operations to normalise, they added.
Dhaka-bound Tangail commuter train with only the staff on board and no passenger crashed into a stationary oil tanker train at Joydebpur Outer Signal (Kazibari) area around 10:45am on Friday, leaving three people, including a train driver, injured.
Several coaches of the commuter train were derailed stranding several trains at different stations.
Railway authorities resumed services using one line, which slowed operations.
During a visit to Kamalapur Railway Station around 2:40pm yesterday, this correspondent saw many passengers waiting for trains in the summer heat. Children and women were the worst victims of the delay.
Romana Akhter arrived at Kamalapur around 8:30am to catch the Rangpur Express, which was supposed to leave the station at 9:10am. There was no sign of the train as of 2:40pm.
The dashboard at the station read: "The train will be delayed."
Romana said, "We don't know when the train will arrive….It's almost unbearable to wait for the train for so long in this heat."
Similarly, the Chapainawabganj-bound Rajshahi commuter train was supposed to depart at 12:20pm but the train did not reach the stations as of 2:40pm.
Contacted, Masud Sarwar, station manager of Kamalapur Railway Station, said some trains got struck on Friday at different points following the collision.
"Those trains arrived at the station late, so they're leaving late," he told The Daily Star around 3:00pm.
He said all trains using the Joydebpur route got delayed by two to three hours.
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