Special Correspondent :
Bangladesh Railway (BR) is set to increase the fare of three inter-country trains operating between Dhaka-Kolkata and Dhaka-Siliguri from June 15.
This marks the fifth fare hike on this route, prompted by a rise in dollar prices.The fare adjustment has sparked anger among passengers, who argue that the repeated fare hikes are making train travel increasingly unaffordable compared to buses and even flights.
The fare increases bring train ticket prices close to plane fares, raising concerns that inter-country trains may lose passengers.On May 25, Deputy Director (Interchange) of Bangladesh Railway Mihrabur Rashid Khan issued a notification regarding the fare adjustment due to the rising dollar value.
The inter-country train services, which were halted for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resumed on May 29, 2022, with the Maitri Express and Bandhan Express operating on the Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka and Khulna-Kolkata-Khulna routes, respectively.
The Mithali Express began service on June 1, 2022. Prior to this, the last train service on the Bangladesh-India route was in 1965.
Following the COVID-19 resumption, Bangladesh Railway increased fares on May 23, 2022, just before services restarted on May 29, with the new fares taking effect from May 24.Starting June 15, passengers on the Maitri Express will pay Tk 5,110 for AC seats, up from the current Tk 4,900 on the Dhaka-Kolkata route.
The AC chair seat fare has been increased by Tk 140 to Tk 3,740.For the Bandhan Express, the AC seat fare will rise from Tk 2,950 to Tk 3,055, while the AC chair seat fare will be fixed at Tk 2,370.On the Dhaka-Siliguri route, the Mithali Express will see its AC berth seat fare increase from Tk 6,720 to Tk 7,025. The AC seat fare will rise by Tk 230 to Tk 4,520, and the AC chair seat fare will be increased by Tk 155 to Tk 4,015.
Currently, the BRTC-Shyamoli bus fare from Dhaka to Kolkata ranges from Tk 2,000 to Tk 2,300, while the fare from Dhaka to Siliguri is about Tk 2,000. In contrast, flights from Dhaka to Kolkata by Bangladesh Biman, NovoAir, and US-Bangla cost between Tk 8,000 and Tk 9,000.Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, Secretary General of Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samiti, criticized the fare increases, suggesting they benefit bus owners under the pretext of rising dollar prices.
He pointed out that train fares in India do not increase with fluctuations in fuel prices or the dollar value, unlike in Bangladesh, where fares have increased several times, making them the highest in Asia.
Mihrabur Rashid Khan stated that the fare adjustments have already been ordered and that they are not increases but alignments with respective countries’ fares.