The West Zone of Bangladesh Railway will launch a 'special mango train' on the Chapainawabganj-Dhaka route via Rajshahi from June 13.
"We have taken the decision of transporting mango to Dhaka for the benefit of the growers and traders," said Asim Kumar Talukder, general manager of the zone.
He said the initiative has also been taken to transport mangoes at a lower cost.
The train will depart from Chapainawabganj around 4:30pm, and Rajshahi around 5:50pm and will reach Dhaka at 2:00am.
The cargo train will carry a maximum of 150 tonnes of mangoes in five wagons every day. It will cost Tk 1.17 to carry a kilogram of mango to Dhaka from Rajshahi, and Tk 1.30 from Chapainawabganj to Dhaka.
Asim Talukder clarified that transport of mangoes in the special train would cost Tk 1,117 per ton whereas courier services cost Tk 20,000 per tonne and private trucks cost around Tk 2,000 a ton.
The train will use 14 stations as stoppages to loading mangoes. However, the parcel train may have stoppages at other stations based on parcel booking and unloading.
The porters were given need-based training on how to handle the goods from booking to loading as well to unloading properly.
In 2020 last, the Mango Special Train was launched for the first time in the wake of growers' transportation problems.
"We have earned Tk 9.30 lakh revenue by transporting 857 tons of mango, litchi, and other agricultural products," Talukder added.
Officials said mango was cultivated on 26,150 hectares of land in Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj districts where it was expected to yield 2,44,000 tonnes of mangoes this year.
