New Age | Locomotive shortage leads to suspension of train services between Ctg and Cox’s Bazar

Due to a shortage of locomotives, regular train services on the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar route have been suspended indefinitely from today.

On the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, some special trains are operated.

Saiful Islam, head of the Chattogram Railway Company, confirmed the news to New Age.

He said it had been decided that regular train services on the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar route would remain suspended indefinitely from today.

“We have a shortage of locomotives and this has disrupted the timetable,” Saiful said, adding that some special trains for Eid journeys would resume running in two weeks.

On April 8, Bangladesh Railway started a special train from Chattogram to Cox’s Bazar on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. Due to the demand from passengers and locals, the train service was extended till May 30.

In November 2023, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the 101-kilometer railway line from Chattogram’s Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar at a cost of about Taka 18,000 crore.

Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, a passenger rights platform, has demanded the immediate reversal of the decision to suspend special train services on the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar route.

In a statement released on Thursday morning, the organisation’s Secretary General, Md Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, stressed the importance of maintaining train services.

The statement further said that after the government constructed the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar railway line at a cost of Taka 10,000 to Taka 12,000 crore to bring rail connectivity to the doorsteps of the people, Bangladesh Railway has started two train services from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar to provide amenities exclusively to the residents of the capital.

Mozammel said the Cox’s Bazar special train was introduced during the last Eid-ul-Fitr festival this year and quickly gained popularity as it offers a safer and cheaper alternative to road travel, which is often marred by accidents and inflated fares.

The service has been extended twice based on the field investigation report of the local railway administration, he added.

He blamed the resistance of bus owners and said there were allegations that they had influenced the railway authorities to stop operations due to falling passenger numbers.

Mozammel said that discontinuing the special train service to Cox’s Bazar would bring tremendous benefits to bus operators.