Crowds at Kamalapur increase ahead of Eid rush

Though there had been little crowding on the first day of Eid trips at Dhaka’s Kamalapur Station, more passengers were seen at the train station on the last working day before the holiday.

Despite some confusion over train schedules on Wednesday, trains were leaving on time on Thursday, said Station Manager Shitangshu Chakravarty.

“Twenty-five trains have left Kamalapur from the start of the day until 11:15am. Things are going according to schedule. We hope the coming trains will also leave on time.”

Assigned Ansar members are noting the time of departure for all trains moving through Kamlapur.

According to Ansar Commander Iyar Hossain, the first train of the day, the Parabata Express left on time at 6:35am for Sylhet. The Shonar Bangla Express for Chittagong also left on time at 7am.

The Karnaphuli Express for Chittagong, however, left 15 minutes late at 8:15am.

The railway had begun to sell early tickets for Eid-ul-Fitr journeys on Jun 12. The first to buy their tickets set off for their destinations on Wednesday.

Thursday’s passengers are those who managed to purchase early tickets after waiting in long lines on Jun 13.

Though train service had started on-time on Wednesday morning, it soon faced delays after 9am. At least ten of the 49 trains that left the station on Wednesday were delayed from half-an-hour to two hours.

The official Eid holidays are from Sunday, Jun 25 to Tuesday, Jun 27. It is believed the Eid rush will begin after office hours on Thursday as travellers try to make the most of the weekend.

The railway is providing 1,332 coaches for Eid travel this year. The railway has the ability to carry a total of 265,000 passengers a day, including 60,000 from Dhaka and 15,000 from Chittagong.