Bangladesh Railway has decided to operate four pairs of special trains and cancelled the weekly off-days of the Padma Express and Madhumati Express trains to handle the additional passenger pressure during Durga Puja holidays.
Bangladesh Railway issued a press release in this regard on Thursday.
Padma Express and Madhumati Express operate on the Rajshahi–Dhaka–Rajshahi route, have been withdrawn for 30 September and 4 October. This year’s Durga Puja holidays coincide with the weekend, creating a four-day government holiday between 1- 4 October.
All public and private educational institutions will also remain closed from 28 September to 8 October. Railway made the schedule changes of the intercity trains to manage the increased rush of holiday travelers heading to different destinations.
The two trains with withdrawn off-days will run according to their regular weekly timetable, and tickets will be available online.
Meanwhile, four additional pairs of trains (Tourist Specials) will be operated from 30 September on the Chattogram-Dhaka, Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar-Dhaka, and Dhaka-Chattogram routes to meet passenger demand in the eastern region. Tickets for these trains will be sold entirely online.
According to the release, adequate mobile courts will be deployed at Dhaka Railway Station (Kamalapur) and Airport Railway Station to prevent passenger harassment and take necessary action against those traveling without tickets.
A vigilance team formed by the ministry will monitor the overall situation.
Bangladesh Railway has already completed all preparations to ensure smooth travel for passengers and maintain overall law and order.
