Oil-carrying train derails in Sylhet
Sylhet's rail link with the rest of the country has been suspended since early yesterday when a freight train derailed in Fenchuganj.
The train was heading towards Sylhet from Chattogram when 10 of its oil-tankers derailed, damaging 200 metres of track, Divisional Railway Manager Sadequr Rahman said.
"Rescue teams are working, but we are not sure when the rail link can be restored," he added.
The technicians have been able to recover only two of the freight carriages as of 4:00pm, he said.
Some amount of oil spilled from the tankers and spread over nearby fields.
Passenger trains Paharika, Jayantika, Parabat and Kushiara did not depart the Sylhet Railway Station yesterday while two other trains on the way to Sylhet from Dhaka and Chattogram had been waiting in Kulaura and Sreemangal for the lines to be fixed, he added.
This has been the fourth derailment of oil tankers in Sylhet division in the last five months.
The other incidents happened in Kulaura on September 15, in Sreemangal on November 7, and in Madhabpur on December 6.
A five-member probe-body, headed by Railway's Divisional Transport Officer Khairul Islam, was formed to investigate the cause of yesterday's derailment.
On June 24, 2019, four people got killed and several others injured when a passenger train fell off the tracks.
Sabuktagin, chief engineer (eastern) of Bangladesh Railway, said, "Sylhet division is hilly, which makes it difficult to control the speed. The train that derailed was going 48km per hour, which is well over the limit of 30km.
"Besides, the track is age old and should be thoroughly revamped. A new dual-gauge track between Akhaura and Sylhet is being planned."
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