Bangladesh Railway increases fares on routes in east zone

The fare has been raised by up to Tk 226

The fares of passenger trains operating in the east zone of the Bangladesh Railway have been increased by up to Tk 226.

The railway authorities justified the raises on all six routes in the zone to meet its increasing maintenance costs. The lowest fare hike was Tk 5.

The fares will take effect from Dec 20, Railway East General Manager Md Shuboktagin confirmed the decision.

The fare increase is the result of increasing the “pontage charge”, which refers to tolls paid along the way during a journey using bridges and other infrastructure.

This is the first increase in the charge since 1982.

A railway official seeking anonymity said their maintenance cost over the last few decades increased following the construction of new bridges and culverts.

The charge has been applied for crossing every bridge or culvert running more than 100m along the route, the officer said.

The east zone covers Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet and Mymensingh divisions.

Pontage charge has been added at 11 points on Dhaka-Chattogram, Dhaka-Sylhet, Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar, Chattogram-Sylhet, Chattogram-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Dewanganj routes.

The decision to readjust the maintenance charge of bridges had been taken at a meeting at the office of Bangladesh Railway’s director general on May 25.

Read our Bangla report for more details