Large crowds and delays marked the first day of Eid-ul-Adha holiday train journey on Saturday, as thousands of people began leaving Dhaka to celebrate the festival with their families.
Passengers at Kamalapur Railway Station endured long waits in humid conditions, with several trains departing behind schedule despite repeated assurances from authorities over smoother Eid journeys this year.
By 10am, at least nine trains had left the station, according to railway officials. Seven of them departed late, with delays ranging from 15 minutes to more than an hour.
The Nilsagar Express, scheduled to leave at 6:45am, departed around 7:30am.
The Teesta Express, due at 7:30am, left at 8:10am.
The Burimari Express, bound for northern Bangladesh, was scheduled to depart at 8:30am but arrived at Kamalapur nearly one-and-a-half hours late.
The Rangpur Express left for Rangpur at 9:30am, around 20 minutes behind schedule, while the Jamalpur Express departed at 10:20am instead of its scheduled 10am departure.
Despite the delays, platforms remained packed with passengers carrying bags and luggage, many determined to avoid the severe road congestion usually seen during Eid travel.
“Trains to the northern region are always delayed,” Burimari Express passenger Parvez Ahmed told TIMES of Bangladesh.
“The authorities are saying the train may arrive a little late. I struggled a lot to buy tickets online. If the train does not leave on time, the suffering in this heat only increases,” he said.
Many passengers said the discomfort was still preferable to spending hours trapped in highway traffic.
Some said the joy of celebrating Eid with family outweighed the inconvenience after months of hard work and separation from loved ones.
Others expressed frustration over the recurring problems during holiday travel.
University student Tanzila Akter said passengers received promises every year but saw little improvement in reality.
“Every Eid season we are given many assurances. We got them this time as well. But what was the benefit?” she said.
“You can see the train is late again, and the condition of the coaches is not very good either. We are tolerating everything only because we want to spend Eid with our families.”
Asked about the delays, Kamalapur Station Manager Md Kabir Uddin told TIMES that the late departures were caused by “operational reasons” and did not amount to major schedule disruptions.
Around 9:30am, Bangladesh Railway Director General Md Afzal Hossain visited several platforms to speak with passengers and inspect the Eid travel situation.
Several passengers complained about the condition of some train coaches.
They said some compartments had broken fans, damaged seats and unclean toilets.
The government holiday for Eid-ul-Adha will begin on 25 May.
Most of those leaving Dhaka early were relatives of office workers, students and small business owners whose workloads before Eid were comparatively lighter.
Amid the crowds at Kamalapur, six-year-old Atika Alam appeared more excited than exhausted.
She was travelling with her parents and aunt to celebrate Eid with her grandparents in the village.
The child ran from one end of the platform to the other, unable to contain her excitement about the journey and the upcoming festival.
Her father, Rafiqul Alam, said the family had long been waiting for the reunion.
Atika’s mother, Nusrat Jahan, said her daughter had been counting down the days to celebrate Eid with her grandparents.
“The greatest joy of Eid is when the whole family comes together,” she said.
Another passenger, Md Swapan, said the journey preparations had been difficult from the beginning.
“Getting tickets and preparing for the trip was stressful,” he said.
“But the thought of seeing my parents and celebrating Eid together with the family makes all the exhaustion disappear.”
Private sector employee Khurshid Alam came to Kamalapur Station to send his family to their village home ahead of the holiday rush.
“I have to work until Tuesday before my leave begins,” he said.
“So, I am sending my family earlier by train. So far, the journey appears smooth, but we will have to see how things unfold in the coming days.”
