An unpopular choice

After eight months since its launch, the Khulna-Kolkata passenger train service has not caught on as a route of choice among India-bound passengers.

Bandhan Express, with 456 seats, was launched on November 16, 2017, the inaugural run to Kolkata carrying 253 passengers. Since then, the highest number of passengers it has had on a single journey so far was 184 the next day, November 17. The number has been on the decline since.

Nowadays, only some 130 passengers on an average travel by the eight-coach train, whereas some 5,000 Bangladeshi people use the Benapole border to enter India on a daily basis.

Passengers attribute poor show of the Bandhan Express service, long stops at Indian border station Chitpur for immigration and customs formalities, once-a-week only (Thursday) schedule, high ticket price, and hassles in ticket purchase both in Khulna and Kolkata to the situation.

Mahmudul Hassan, a businessman from Khulna who frequently travels to India, said the train runs only on Thursdays. So, those who have emergency have to take a bus or flight.

Moreover, train tickets are only available for spot purchase, that too only at Khulna Railway Station. There is no online purchase option which is another drawback, he added.

“Khulna is a small city. Logically, it will not have many passengers for India. And there is no railway stop between Khulna and Chitpur,” said Riadul Hassan, a government employee and resident of Jessore.

Passengers from Jessore, Jhenidah, Noapara, Meherpur and Benapole have to travel backwards to Khulna to catch the train, he added.

The train service could have been beneficial for some commuters of Pirojpur, Gopalganj and Madaripur districts, but is inconvenient and thereby losing passengers from south-eastern districts, including Bagerhat, Kustia, Chuadanga and Magura, due to less train schedules and train stops.

“We prefer to travel by bus with a stop in the middle even though it is not as comfortable as train journey, since it is more cost and time-effective”, he added.

High ticket price is another major factor that deters the commuters. The fare of an air-conditioned cabin is Tk 2,000, while air-conditioned chairs are available for Tk 1,500 each including travel tax. On the contrary, a bus ticket to Kolkata costs only Tk 600 including travel tax.

The train takes only four and a half hours to reach Kolkata from Khulna including half-an-hour check at Benapole, and a full hour at Petrapole customs check post across the border.

Meriz Sultana, a passenger who recently travelled to India by Bandhan, claimed, “Indian customs officials waste time by asking irrelevant questions.”

Blaming manpower shortage on Indian side for the delay, Tariqul Islam, immigration officer-in-charge at Benapole, said, “We have 16 desks for completing customs and immigration formalities, whereas our Indian counterparts have 14 desks.”

In the last seven months, a total of 4,579 passengers went to Kolkata, while 3,445 passengers entered Bangladesh from India by the route, Benapole Station Master Shahidul Islam told The Daily Star recently.

Bandhan reaches Khulna from India at 7:00am on every Thursday, and leaves for Kolkata the same day at 1:30pm.

Ever since the launch of the service, Jessore Citizens' Committee, a citizens' platform, has been demanding for two stops -- one at Jessore and another in Benapole -- and more trips, but no initiative has been taken in this regard so far.