Bogura train derailment: Transshipment plan in place as rail authorities target restoration by Thursday
Until services return to normal, passengers travelling from Dhaka to Nilphamari, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Panchagarh, and Joypurhat will be required to change trains at designated points to complete their journeys.
Train services on key northern routes were disrupted after the Nilsagar Express derailed near Bogura, prompting railway authorities to launch recovery operations and introduce alternative travel arrangements for passengers.
Ahmed Hossain Masum, chief engineer of Bangladesh Railway's western zone, said rescue and recovery work began shortly after the incident.
"It is expected that everything will be restored by tomorrow [Thursday]," he told The Business Standard on Tuesday evening (18 March).
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
In the meantime, Bangladesh Railway has introduced a "transshipment plan" to ease passenger movement along the affected route. Under this arrangement, passengers travelling between Dhaka and northern districts including Nilphamari, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Panchagarh and Joypurhat will have to change trains at designated points to complete their journeys.
Additional Director General (Operations) Mohammad Nazmul Islam said several Intercity trains are being used for transshipment, including Panchagarh Express, Ekota Express, Drutojan Express, Simanta Express, Rupsha Express, Titumir Express, and Barendra Express on different routes.
He added that special arrangements have also been made, including operating Kurigram Express via Bogura and partial cancellations of Banglabandha Express services.
Railway officials said it may take around 12 hours to recover the derailed coaches and clear the track. Until then, services on sections of the Panchagarh–Dinajpur route remain suspended, severely affecting connectivity between the capital and the northern region.
At least 112 passengers were injured after eight coaches of the Dhaka-bound intercity train, en route to Chilahati, derailed today near Bagbari, close to Santahar Junction in Bogura.
The train, numbered 765, went off the tracks with multiple coaches in what witnesses described as a severe accident. It reportedly occurred after the train ignored a signal and entered a maintenance zone.
Bogura Superintendent of Police Mirza Syem Mahmud visited the site and confirmed that 112 people were injured. Of them, 22 were admitted to Naogaon Sadar Hospital and Adamdighi Upazila Health Complex, while others received primary treatment and were later discharged.
Following the incident, train services on the Dhaka–Ishwardi–Dinajpur–Panchagarh route have been completely suspended, effectively cutting off northern regions from the capital by rail.
Chief Engineer Masum said a four-member committee has been formed to investigate the incident.
