City Desk :
Passenger train services have resumed operations after several weeks of suspension due to violence surrounding the student movement and the Awami League government’s fall.
Short-distance, commuter, and mail trains resumed on Tuesday morning. However, the number of passengers was comparatively low, reports media.
Freight train services had already resumed from Monday.
Bangladesh Railway has announced that all types of intercity trains will start carrying passengers from Thursday.
Railways Secretary Humayun Kabir held a meeting with the chief adviser on the resumption of train movement.
During the time, the chief adviser said: “If there is no problem with the railway, the rail movement can be started.”
After that, senior railway officials met and decided to start the train services step by step.
Dhaka’s Kamalapur Railway Station Master Md Anwar Hossain said: “The Balaka, Dewanganj Commuter, Narayanganj Commuter, Mahua Express, Turag, Karnaphuli and Titas Commuter left Kamalapur Station in the morning. Similarly, Dhaka-bound trains started on time.”
On July 18, train services were suspended after violence erupted, centring the quota reform protest.
Later local, commuter and mail trains resumed running on short distances, along with some freight and fuel trains.
On August 4, when the protesters announced a nationwide non-cooperation movement, the rail movement was stopped indefinitely.
After a week of closure, a limited number of trains was decided to resume operation on July 25. However, no trains were operated that day.
On that day, at a meeting at the Bangladesh Railway Bhaban, the Ministry of Railways decided to suspend train movement across the country if the unrest remained.
The train services resumed short-distance on August 1 after a 13-day suspension. However, after two days, they were stopped again on August 3.