Rail services to Sylhet resume after fatal train crash in Moulvibazar

Railway communication between Sylhet and the rest of Bangladesh has resumed after a 22-hour disruption following a fatal train accident in Moulvibazar.

Repair work on the damaged rail lines was completed on Monday evening, said Ashraful Islam, public works engineer who was in charge of the project.

He said a locomotive was run on the repaired track around 7:30pm, adding, “The Chattogram-bound Udayan Express departed from Sylhet at 9:20pm. Normal services resumed afterwards.”

A Dhaka-bound Upaban Express derailed in Kulaura Upazila around 11pm on Sunday, snapping rail links with Sylhet.

Four passengers were killed and at least 100 injured in the crash.

The inter-district train made its first stop at Maijgaon Station after leaving Sylhet at 10pm. But shortly after the locomotive left the Baramchal Railway Station, disaster struck as five of its coaches veered off the tracks.

One of the bogeys fell off a culvert after it collapsed, while two others overturned in a field next to the tracks.

Two probe panels have been formed by Bangladesh Railways to look into the cause of the accident.