Ishwardi (Pabna) Correspondent :
Western Railway in crisis. Although various initiatives have been taken, not much success has come in reality. 23 trains and 54 stations have been closed in a century and a half. Due to lack of coaches, engines and manpower, most of the trains are stopped. Although the passengers are angry about it, there is no initiative to start them. However, according to the passengers, it is very important to run every train to keep the railway service uninterrupted.
On September 28, an office order signed by the Assistant Chief Operating Superintendent of the Western Railway, Abdul Awal, confirmed the suspension of trains. which was published recently. According to the report, the mixed 451/452 local train on the Lalmonirhat-Burimari-Lalmonirhat route was stopped on May 12, 2006 due to shortage of coaches, engines and manpower. The Sirajganj Express train on the Sirajganj-Dhaka route was stopped on August 15. This train was stopped due to vandalism and arson at Sirajganj Bazar station. Apart from this, Chandana-Bhanga Commuter and Uttara Express and local-563/564 of Ishwardi-Dhaka route have been closed to avoid vandalism due to reduced revenue in the passenger sector.
The report also said that on December 1, 2009, one of the Parvatipur-Bir Muktijodha Sirajul Islam route and a local train on the Lalmonirhat-Parvatipur route were stopped due to shortage of coaches, engines and manpower. Two more local trains on Lalmonirhat-Parvatipur and Lalmonirhat-Burimari routes were closed on May 16, 2010 for the same reason. On March 15, 2011, one train on the Parvatipur-Bir Muktijodha Sirajul Islam route and on July 1, 2011, two more local trains on the Lalmonirhat-Parvatipur route were stopped due to the same reason. On March 24, 2020, Parbatipur-Ramanabazar-Tista-Ramanabazar-Parbatipur route local and Parbatipur-Bir Muktijodha Sirajul Islam route Panchagarh commuter trains were closed for repairs. These two trains have not started.
The North Bengal Mail Train was discontinued on 19 August 2021. The train was plying on Santahar-Bir Mukti Jodha Sirajul Islam route. The Rangpur Commuter on the Lalmonirhat-Parvatipur route was closed on 18 June 2023 for repairs.
To avoid sabotage on December 14 of that year, the Uttara Express train on the Parvatipur-Rajshahi-Parvatipur route was closed on December 22 due to low revenue and locals on the Ishwardi-Rajshahi-Ishwardi route. The broken commuter train on Rajbari-Dhaka-Rajbari route was stopped on August 13 due to lack of desired income.
Meanwhile, 54 stations of Western Railway have been declared closed due to manpower shortage. According to railway data, there are 175 stations in the western region. Now 121 are operational as 54 are due to lack of manpower.