A total of 23 train services under Bangladesh Railway west zone have been suspended over the past18 years due to various challenges including a shortage of passengers, financial losses, and insufficient resources such as coaches, locomotive masters, locomotives, and manpower.
After being suspended, these train services did not resume.
The suspended train services are causing suffering to thousands of passengers who travel by train in various routes of the western zone. Moreover, 54 stations have also been closed for the same reasons. Passengers are frustrated about closure of the train services and the stations as it created problem in transportation. However, there no initiative has been taken to resume these train services.
The matter was confirmed in an office order signed by Abdul Awal, Assistant Chip Operating Superintendent of Western Railway on September 28. The report was sent to the Director (Transport) of Bangladesh Railway west zone and was published recently.
The report states that the authorities have announced the closure of 23 trains from 2006 to 2024 due to various challenges. The most recent closure was the Sirajganj Express train on the Sirajganj-Dhaka route, which was discontinued on August 15 due to vandalism and arson at the Sirajganj Bazar station. Earlier, the local train service on the Lalmonirhat-Burimari-Lalmonirhat route was closed on May 12, 2006, due to shortages of engines and manpower. On December 1, 2009, two more trains—one on the Parvatipur-Bir Muktijodha Sirajul Islam route and the other on the Lalmonirhat-Parvatipur route—were discontinued due to shortages of coaches, engines, and manpower. Similarly, two additional trains on the Lalmonirhat-Parvatipur and Lalmonirhat-Burimari routes were closed on May 16, 2010. On March 15, 2011, one train on the Parvatipur-Bir Muktijodha Sirajul Islam route and two more local trains on the Lalmonirhat-Parvatipur route on July 1, 2011, were discontinued for the same reasons.
A total of 8 train services were suspended in 2012 due to shortages of engines, coaches, and manpower. On December 18 of that year, one train on each of the following routes—Lalmonirhat-Santahar, Gowalandghat-Rajbari, Rajbari-Ishwardi, Parvatipur-Ishwardi, and Ishwardi-Rajbari—was stopped. After eight years, on March 24 in 2020, a local train service on the Parvatipur-Ramnabazar-Teesta-Ramnabazar-Parvatipur route, along with the Panchagarh Commuter Train 2 on the Parvatipur-Bir Muktijodha Sirajul Islam route, was closed for repairs. Panchagarh Commuter Train 2 did not resume service afterward.
The train on the Santahar-Bir Muktijoddha Sirajul Islam route was suspended on August 19, 2021. Additionally, the Rangpur Commuter Train operating on the Lalmonirhat-Parvatipur route was closed for repairs on June 18, 2023.
On December 14 of that same year, the local train on the Ishwardi-Rajshahi-Ishwardi route was suspended to prevent potential sabotage. Subsequently, on December 22, the Parvatipur-Rajshahi-Parvatipur train was also halted due to low passenger income.
Most recently, the commuter train on the Rajbari-Dhaka-Rajbari route was closed on August 13 of this year, again citing low income in the passenger sector as the primary reason. These closures highlight ongoing challenges within the railway system, including safety concerns and financial viability.
Abdul Awal, Assistant Chief Operating Superintendent of Western Railway said that these trains have remained suspended for a long time. Mainly, these train services were closed due to a lack of loco master and locomotives. He also said that he asked for these statistics from the senior officials of the railway. The list has been sent. They working to increase man power and add manage locomotives, which can enable them to resume some of the suspended train services.
When asked about the overall situation, Mamunul Islam, General Manager (West) of Bangladesh Railway west zone, said Although some train services have been suspended due to various challenges, we have also introduced several new train services. We have also started to renovate everything to increase the quality of passenger service.
