Rail links to north yet to be restored after Nilsagar Express accident

“We have been working for the last 17 hours and have succeeded in recovering six coaches already,” says a railway official

Rail connections to northern Bangladesh have yet to be restored 17 hours after a Nilsagar Express train carrying Eid travellers to Nilphamari’s Chilahati derailed in Bogura’s Santahar.

Railway rescue teams are working without break to restore rail services that have been suspended since Wednesday's accident.

On Thursday morning, Ahmed Hossain Masum, chief engineer of the Western Railway Zone, said that the rescue work on the train is almost complete and train services are expected to resume between 10am and 10:30am.

“We have been working for the last 17 hours and have succeeded in recovering six coaches already. The rail track is undergoing repair after moving the other four coaches aside,” he said.

The Nilsagar Express left Dhaka for Chilahati in Nilphamari at 6:45am on Wednesday carrying homebound passengers on Eid holiday.

The train stopped at Santahar station around 2pm. From there, the train started its journey towards Tilakpur station.

Shortly afterwards the train derailed in the Bagmari area of Adamdighi Upazila. Nine of the train's coaches went off the track.

After the Nilsagar Express accident in Bogura’s Santahar, direct train connectivity from Dhaka to some northern districts has been suspended.

Eid travellers to the northern part of the country have grown worried as the accident occurred at the peak hours of the Eid journey on Wednesday.