Thousands stranded in Bangladesh after train schedule disruption

By Mizan Rahman/DhakaThe sufferings of train passengers in Bangladesh worsened yesterday following a massive schedule disruption amid nationwide indefinite transport blockade. Bangladesh Railways (BR) officials said thousands of passengers were stranded at Kamalapur and other railway stations for hours due to the schedule disruption between Dhaka and other destinations.An official at the railway information centre in Dhaka said that some trains scheduled to arrive on Friday night could not make it while those scheduled to leave yesterday morning were delayed for an ‘indefinite time’.“Mahanagar Provati was scheduled to leave at 7:40am but the train is yet to arrive in Dhaka,” he said, adding that the train was at Comilla station at 8:30am.The helpless passengers were keeping their eyes on the screen to check their train schedule frequently.Ali Akkas Chowdhury, a Comilla-bound passenger said, “It’s frustrating for me. I’m here with my three-year-old daughter and my wife.”Chowdhury, who returned from Britain a couple of days ago, said he did not have any option but to wait with uncertainty.Station manager Sitangshu Chakraborty said the delay was because of security measures. “We’re terming it as delay what you see as schedule disruption. It’s improving gradually. We hope to be back on track after Biswa Ijtema (second phase of World Muslim Congregation).”He said however short distance train like Dhaka-Narayanganj and Dhaka-Kishoreganj were leaving Dhaka station on time.“We are giving priority to passengers’ safety, and trains are moving slowly to avert any unwanted incident. We’re happy as the passengers are reaching their destinations safely … that’s enough for us,” he said.