Delays on train service to the north at Kamalapur Station

Passengers travelling on trains to northern Bangladesh are facing much delays at Kamalapur railway station.

By 9am on Saturday 16 trains had left Kamalapur. The crowds were heaviest on the Teesta Express to Dewanganj, the Dhumketu to Rajshahu, the Nilsagar Express to Chilahati and the Dewanganj Express trains.

The Chittagong Metropolitan train was also crowded, but no passengers risked climbing on the roof for the journey.

Passenger Alamgir Hossain, unable to find a seat on the Nilsagar Express, was standing by the door on a compartment for his trip to Parbatipur.

“I did not get a ticket so I have to go like this,” he told bdnews24.com. “Standing for such a length of time is quite difficult, but there is no choice.”

Though the trip may be difficult, it will be forgotten as soon as she reaches home, said passenger Rebecca Sultana.

“I can only return home for one Eid. My father and my father-in-law live in the same area, close to other relatives. How can I stay here when my home beckons me?”

According to rail authorities some of the early morning trains were delayed. The Teesta Express was delayed by fifteen minutes.

The Nilsagar Express to Chilahati, scheduled to leave at 8am, left 35 minutes later.

The Rangpur Express, scheduled to leave Kamalapur Station at 9am, had not arrived by 9:30am. The rail authorities have informed passengers the train will leave the station at 12:40pm. The same train had left two hours late on Friday.

“There was some delay due to excess passengers,” Kamalapur Station Manager Sitangshu Chakravarty told bdnews24.com.

“The Rangpur Express left late yesterday so it is taking longer to return. The Nilsagar was delayed a half hour, but that is a trivial matter. Such things happen ahead of Eid.”