Rail communication between Khulna and the rest of the country snapped after eight oil tankers of a Khulna-bound freight train derailed near Ansarbaria station in Jibannagar Upazila of Chuadanga early Wednesday . Uthli Railway's Station Master Mintu Roy said that a train carrying 32 empty tankers was heading to Khulna from Bogura on Tuesday night when the derailment occurred. “Around 1 am, near the 11-number point of the railway line close to Ansarbaria station, eight tankers derailed,” he said. Derailment in Gazipur halts rail communication with northern Bangladesh A rescue train from Ishurdi in Pabna has been working on the derailed tankers since dawn. The rescue operation is still ongoing, with the authorities striving to restore rail communication. With operations halted at Ansarbaria station, Chuadanga station Master Mizanur Rahman said, “The recovery of the derailed tankers is in progress, and train operations may resume after the rescue work is complete.” Shanto Kumar Biswas, the point man at Chuadanga station, confirmed that passenger trains traveling from Dhaka to Khulna and those heading from Khulna to Goalanda are now stuck at Chuadanga station and Mobarakganj station. Rail communication between Sylhet and rest of the country resumes after 8 hours He stated, “Midnight onward, rail communication with the entire country has been suspended.” Rescue operations began at dawn, with efforts underway to clear the tracks and resume services. “A passenger train is currently stuck at Chuadanga station. Further details will be known after the completion of the rescue operation,” he added.

Commuter trains will run on short distances from tomorrow (July 25, 2024), Additional Director General of Bangladesh Railway Md Arifuzzaman said on Wednesday. “One or two commuter trains will operate from tomorrow on short distance routes. It will take time to resume operation of inter-city trains once the current situation improves,” he told UNB. Besides, network disruption also causes delay of train services as tickets are available online, he added. Read more: AP report: Bangladesh moves back to normalcy after violent clashes that killed nearly 200 people Under the circumstances, commuter trains will operate on the Dhaka-Narayanganj and Ishwardi routes while the authorities will try their level best to resume commuter trains on Dhaka-Joydebpur route, he said. The Burimari commuter train will operate from Lalmonirhat district, said the additional DG. He also said that freight trains or oil-carrying trains were operating since Monday.

Train services between Dhaka and northern districts of Bangladesh resumed Wednesday morning, after remaining suspended for nearly eight hours due to the derailment of a frieght train in Gazipur a little after midnight Tuesday. The services resumed at 8.30am after a wagon of a North Bengal-bound train that veered off the track was removed, station master of Joydevpur railway junction, Rezaul Islam, told UNB. The wagon derailed soon after the train reached the Baj Hijltali area of Kaliakair upazila around 12.30am, halting train movement between Dhaka and northern districts, he added. After the derailment, a rescue train from Dhaka reached the site early this morning and started the salvage operation. "Passengers on the route suffered immensely due to the derailment as several trains, including Panchagarh Express, Nilsagar Express, got stuck at stations." Fortunately, no casualties were reported, said the official.  

Bangladesh and India on Sunday started regular operation of freight trains through restored Haldibari-Chilahati rail route, aiming to "strengthen rail connectivity and bilateral trade" between the two countries.  It will also enhance rail network accessibility to the main ports and dry ports to support the growth in regional trade and to encourage economic and social development of the region, said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka on Sunday.  Read:After 56 yrs, Bangladesh-India rail link to reopen Sunday The Haldibari- Chilahati rail link is the fifth rail link between Bangladesh and India that has been made operational. The commodities that can be exported from India to Bangladesh through this rail route include stones and boulders, food grain, fresh fruits, chemical fertilizer, onion, chilies, garlic, ginger, fly ash, clay, limestone and wood. From Bangladesh to India all exportable commodities are permitted. Indian Railways dispatched the first freight train loaded with stones from Damdim station of Northeast Frontier Railway to Bangladesh. After the partition in 1947, 7 rail links were operational between India and the then East Pakistan (up to 1965).  Read:BR Masterplan: Riding train to a prosperous future?

The government has taken a massive move to upgrade the railway network of the country as within the land communication system, the railway sector is considered as the safest, comfortable, affordable and environment-friendly means for transporting passengers and goods. Considering the importance of railways as a means of public transport in meeting the demands of the country's large population , the government has been taking a range of steps to ensure balanced and integrated development of the sector.  Read: Special cattle train starts on Chapainawabganj-Dhaka route As part of the 30 year revised master plan (2016-2045) of Bangladesh Railway, Cox's Bazar, Mongla Port, Tungipara, Barisal, Chattogram Hill Tracts and other parts of the country will be brought under the railway network. The plan spans the period earmarked for Bangladesh, having graduated to become a middle-income nation, to take the next step and becoming a prosperous nation (Vision 2041). Under the master plan, 230 projects will be implemented in six phases at a cost of Tk. 553,662 crore (5.5 trillion)- nearly the size of the entire national budget passed recently for the current fiscal (2021-22).  According to an official document, the government is going to construct 798.09 km of new railway lines, 897 km of dual gauge/double railway lines parallel to existing railway lines. Read Railway launches luggage van to transport vegetables It will also rehabilitate 886.51 km of railway lines, construct nine important railway bridges, and construct level crossings.

Authorities have suspended train services on several routes from Tuesday as strict restrictions have been enforced in some districts to stem the spread of coronavirus. According to a notice issued by the Railways Ministry, two train services in Gazipur-Turag Express and Kaliakair Commuter Train were suspended from 6 am on Tuesday for nine days. Read:Suspension of long-haul bus services makes people’s journeys arduous No inter-city train will stop in Gazipur during the period. Besides, services of Tungipara Express train on Gopalganj-Rajshahi route , Nakshikatha Express on Khulna-Rajbari route, and Rajbari Express train on Rajbari-Bhanga-Rajbari route have been suspended. Read:Passenger vessel movement suspended in 7 districts All Khulna-bound passenger trains have been asked to halt operation at Jashore stoppage. The suspension of services will remain in force until June 30 or the lockdown period announced for some districts.

The government has decided to keep passenger train services between Rajshahi and other parts of the country suspended from Friday in the wake of the increased detection rate of Covid-19 infection in the frontier districts. The suspension of services will be effective until midnight past June 17, Mohammad Shafiqur Rahman, director (public relations) of Bangladesh Railway, said Thursday. Bangladesh Railway came up with the announcement as the local administration has imposed an all-out lockdown in the Rajshahi city for a week, starting 5pm Friday, amid a spike in Covid-19 infections there. Also read: Train services to resume at half capacity from Monday No vehicle will be allowed into Rajshahi city and transports cannot leave the area. However, emergency vehicles are exempt from the lockdown. Rajshahi division confirmed 815 daily cases – the highest in the country — in the past 24 hours until Thursday morning. Eight people died from Covid-19 there during the same period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services. Also read: Passenger train services to remain suspended during lockdown: Minister On May 24, regular train services across the country were resumed after suspension of over a month as part of the government restrictions on people's movement to curb coronavirus transmission. However, the authorities were asked to keep 50% of seats vacant for ensuring social distancing. On April 5, passenger train services were suspended across the country as part of a countrywide lockdown – imposed to tackle the second wave of infection.

Twenty eight pairs of trains will run from Monday across the country after suspension of the services for over one month as part of the government restrictions on people’s movement to stem the coronavirus transmission. The authorities concerned have been asked to keep half of the train seat vacant for ensuring social distance, said a handout issued by Railways Ministry on Sunday. Passengers can purchase train tickets online, it said. Passenger train services were suspended across the country on April 5 as part of countrywide lockdown following surge in Covid infections. Read: Bank transaction hours from 10 am to 2:30 pm until May 30 The government on Sunday extended the ongoing lockdown by another week until May 30 allowing public buses to run at half of their capacities considering the current coronavirus situation in the country. The Cabinet Division  has issued a circular in this regard. All concerned, including passengers, will have to maintain health protocols like wearing masks, says the circular. Besides, hotels and restaurants will be allowed to keep open with half of half of their capacities. The authorities concerned have been asked to take necessary steps in this regard. Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh Bangladesh logged 38 more coronavirus-related deaths in 24 hours till Saturday morning, taking the country's fatalities to 12,348. The daily infection rate rose to 8.41% from Friday's 7.22%, said the Directorate General of Health Services. Meanwhile, 1,028 new cases were reported after testing 12,230 samples. Read:Bangladesh extends lockdown until May 30 Bangladesh reported 26 deaths on Friday after logging around 30 deaths for consecutive four days. The fatality rate rose to 1.57% after remaining static at 1.56% for six days. The recovery rate stood at 92.65% as 759 people recovered in the last 24 hours. The overall recovery number is 729,798 till date. Bangladesh has so far reported 787,726 coronavirus cases.  

Regular railway services on the Kushtia-Rajbari route remained suspended for the second day on Saturday due to the derailment of a freight train near Kushtia station on Friday.

Rail communications of Sylhet with the rest of the country remained suspended from Sunday morning following the derailment of a freight train at Baramchal in Kulaura upazila of Moulvibazar.