Passengers suffer for schedule collapse, cancellation of trips

Hundreds of passengers suffered long waits at Chittagong Railway Station yesterday, as most trains ran behind schedules and some trips were cancelled due to broken rail tracks and violence during the opposition's countrywide blockade.
Till 6:00pm yesterday, trips of three Dhaka-bound intercity trains were cancelled due to delayed arrivals or on security grounds, said railway officials.
Because of this, the passengers of Karnaphuli Express, Suborno Express and Mohanagar Probhati had to leave the station after hours of tiresome wait.
The trips of Suborno and Probhati were cancelled, as they were stranded at different stations, said Chittagong Railway Station Manger AA Shamsul Alam.
Only Sagorika Express, one of the 13 mail, express and intercity trains which ply between Chittagong and other districts everyday, started off on time.
Talking to The Daily Star around 11:30am, Shah Alam, a passenger of Paharika Express, which was scheduled to leave at 8:30am, said he had been waiting since 7:30am.
“But till now, I don't know whether the train will depart the station or not,” he said. The train finally left at 2:15pm, about six hours behind its schedule. Another inter-district train, Chattala Express, also left the station after six hours of delay.
Two local trains, which ply inside Chittagong district, and the Chittagong University shuttle train, however, operated without interruption.
An estimated 12,000 people leave for different destinations from Chittagong Railway Station daily.