The test run of a train on Bhanga-Rupdia route began on Saturday from Bhanga junction in Faridpur district as part of Padma Bridge Rail Link project.

The train left for Jashore’s Rupdia from Bhanga around 8:41 am in the morning, said Bhanga Rail Station master Zillur Rahman.

Md Shakhawat Hossian was the locomotive driver of the train and it will run with 120 km speed, he said adding it took only one hour to reach Rupdia.

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The train will leave for Bhanga from Rupdia rail station on March 31 and it will run on the route for some days on an experimental basis, said Zillur.

A festive mood is prevailing among people over the operation of the train service on Bhanga-Rupdia route.

The trial train run is under the observation of Bangladesh Army and high officials concerned of the Rail project.

Already, a train on Dhaka-Jashore route has launched and the last portion of the project is Bhanga-Jashore which is 87.32 km long.

On October 14, 2023, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the construction work on a rail link between Dhaka and Jashore under the ‘Padma Bridge Rail Link Construction Project.’

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The railway line is being constructed in three phases (plus a 3km link being built between Dhaka and Gandaria): 37km Gandaria-Mawa section, a 42km Mawa-Bhanga section, and an 87km Bhanga Junction-Jashore section. Some 43.2km of loops, siding and Y-connections bring the total track length to 215.2km.

The entire railway project from Dhaka-Jashore is scheduled to be completed by June, 2024.

There will be 20 stations from Dhaka to Jashore, of which 14 are new and 6 are already there. The previous stations are also being modernised. Once completed, trains will be able to run at a speed of 120 to 130 kilometres.

According to the railway sources, the Padma Bridge Rail Link project, a 172-km railway link being built to connect capital Dhaka to Jashore in the country’s south-west, is on course to be completed in June 2024.