Better experience at Kamalapur station

Train passengers experienced a different Eid journey home on Monday as the authorities arranged tighter scrutiny to bar passengers without advance tickets from entering Kamalapur Railway Station in the capital since morning.

Kamalapur Railway Station was well organised on the first day of Eid trip as passengers were allowed after ticket checking at three levels. The tickets were matched with National Identity cards or photo ID cards. The station was not overcrowded like before as well.

Authorities made five makeshift gates with bamboo for entrance and ticket checkers were deployed there to see the tickets and match with NID cards. The staffs were accompanied by personnel from Railway Nirapatta Bahini (RNB) and Rover Scout.

Police and RAB also opened temporarily control room at the station along with Railway’s mobile court. After the makeshift gates, there was a second checking at iron-made three gates. Apart from this, re-checking was being done after entering the platform where Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTEs) was using point of sales (POS) machines.

This year, advanced tickets for holiday makers were sold only online. There was no queue of ticket seekers in front of the counters. However, passengers are allowed to collect standing tickets on the day of journey.

Railway’s Dhaka divisional railway manager Mohammad Shafiqur Rahman said the passengers are going through four-layer security checking. Those with valid tickets are not facing any trouble. “We are not finding major problems till now. The tickets and NIDs are being matched,” he said.

Kamalapur Railway Station Manager Masud Sarwar said, “The checking system will be in place at Airport Railway and Joyedbpur Railway Stations as well. Everyday 52 pairs of trains will leave the stations with 50,000 passengers including the 25% standing ones.”

He said that they will try their best to bar passengers from travelling on train’s roofs.

The first intercity train, Dhumketu Express, left for Rajshahi 20 minutes behind the schedule and Mohanagar Probhati left two hours behind the schedule, but other trains managed to maintain schedule.

Eight out of 10 trains, including inter-city and mail trains, left the capital by 8am, said Masud Sarwar.

A total of 52 trains were scheduled to leave the station including 37 intercity and 15 mail, local and commuter trains.

Cumilla train crash: Railway suspends 4 staffers

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Railway has temporarily suspended four of its staffers over Sunday’s Sonar Bangla Express train collision.

The four are guard Abdul Quader (Chattogram Division), Hasanpur station signal maintainer Wahid, loco master Md Jashim Uddin (Dhaka Headquarters) and assistant loco master Md Mohsin (Dhaka Headquarters).

Shariful Islam, senior information officer of Railway Ministry, confirmed the matter to The Business Post on Monday.

Rail communication from Dhaka to Chattogram was disrupted after Dhaka-bound Sonar Bangla Express hit a freight train at Hasanpur railway station of Cumilla on Sunday evening.

Later, two separate probe committees were formed to investigate the accident. A five-member investigation committee was formed by the district administration and another four-member investigation committee was formed by the railways.

Six compartments and the locomotive of Sonar Bangla Express were derailed injuring at least 20 passengers on the spot. Six of them are in critical condition.

Several of the injured were treated at Nangalkot Health Complex.