Sylhet rail link with Dhaka, Ctg restored after 5hrs

Rail communication with Dhaka and Chattogram from Sylhet was restored after around five hours yesterday. 

Communication was snapped at around 11am as a compartment of a freight train got off the track at the outer signal area -- around 200 metres off Baramchal Rail Station at Kulaura upazila under Moulvibazar.

Moreover, the freight train brought traffic movement to a stop over Fenchuganj-Brahmanbazar regional road, as thousands of vehicles on both side of the level crossing could not pass through.

This is the fourth notable train derailment in the area after the June 23 accident of inter-city Upaban Express, which killed four and injured around a 100. Later on July 19 and July 20, two more train derailments happened in the area.

Witnesses said that a compartment of the freight train was derailed and the train kept moving for some minutes before stopping. The incident broke at least 250 slippers and 500 clips of the rail line.

Locals said they have been urging the railway authority to repair the track for years but no notable repair work is being initiated to solve the problem permanently.

Julhas Mahmud, sub-assistant engineer of the railway, said, “There was some problem at the wheels and tools of the derailed compartment, which was notified earlier but before it could be repaired, the derailment occurred.”