Trains to north and south wait for completion of Tangail bridge repairs

Rail authorities say train services from Dhaka to the north and south of Bangladesh can resume Monday evening after repairs are completed on a bridge in Tangail.

“We are working tirelessly,” Railway Director General Md Amjad Hossain toldbdnews24.com on Monday. “The repairs to the bridge approach are in their final stages.”

“We hope to finish by this afternoon and restart train service.”

A strong flood current caused a 20-foot section of ground on the approach road to the rail bridge to shift on Sunday morning, leading to a halt in service.

Rail services from Dhaka to the north and south were cancelled on Sunday and the Maitri Express, which plies the Dhaka-Kolkata route, was cancelled for two days.

Repair work on the bridge began on Monday morning after materials arrived from Dhaka, said Railway Western Region Executive Engineer Ramzan Ali said.

“In addition to the shifting ground, the rail lines have bent slightly and the slippers have fallen into the water. We have been working away since we received word of the incident,” he said.

“We have added sand to shore up the area that collapsed. Now we are laying girders. We hope to resume train service by this evening.”

Though the executive engineer said the current had carried away the soil, Elenga Municipality Mayor Md Safi Khan claims the soil collapse is due to illegal sand extraction and unplanned dredging.

Trains from Dhaka to the north and south were cancelled on Monday as the repairs were underway. Kamalapur Station Manager Shitangshu Chakravarty says ticket purchasers are being refunded.

Though trains from Dhaka to the north were not running on Monday, the Silk City Express did leave Rajshahi for Dhaka. The train will stop at the damaged Tangail bridge and passengers will be transferred to the Dhumketu on the other shore.