Dhaka-Rajshahi train schedule cancelled

Train services to and from Rajshahi have been cancelled due to the derailment of an oil carrying train in Charghat upazila yesterday.

Rajshahi-bound trains from Dhaka Bonolota and Dhumketu were cancelled following the train derailment, said Aminul Haque, station manager of Kamalapur Railway Station.

Bonolota was scheduled to leave Kamalapur station at 6:00pm while Dhumketu was supposed to leave at 1:15pm, the station manager said.   

The ticket prices were refunded to the passengers, he added.

However, Silkcity scheduled to leave Dhaka for Rajshahi at 2:40pm will start from the capital in due time, he said.

Meanwhile, Rajshahi railway authorities also cancelled all train schedules in the morning.   

The Rajshahi-bound trains that got stuck at different nearby stations like Ishwardi and Natore following the derailment are returning to the stations from where they started earlier, the manager said.

Till this morning, the rescue team managed to recover only three of the tankers due to bad weather, said Rajshahi Divisional Railway Manager Mizanur Rahman.

The rail lines need to be repaired also as the railway tracks were badly damaged following the derailment, he further said.

The communication is likely to get restored by afternoon, the railway official said.

The train was carrying 30 oil tankers, of which eight went off track at the outer station of Sardaha road at 6pm, he said.

Abdur Rashid, an assistant executive engineer, was suspended after the incident, and a five-member committee headed by divisional transportation officer Abdullah Al Mamun was formed to investigate the accident.

The rescue team also have discovered a crack in the railway line, but they are not sure whether it was due to the accident or existed from before.

The investigating committee will probe the matter further, he added.

Source: thedailystar