Ctg Chhatra Dal charters special train for tomorrow’s Dhaka rally at Tk10 lakh

Jatiotabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), the student wing of BNP, has chartered a special train consisting of 20 coaches at a cost of Tk10 lakh to travel to a political rally at Shahbagh in Dhaka tomorrow (3 August).

According to the Bangladesh Railway, the JCD Chattogram Metropolitan unit submitted a formal request on 30 July to charter a train for the occasion. The following day, on 31 July, the railway authorities approved the request and confirmed the arrangement.

Bangladesh Railway's Divisional Commercial Officer Tousia Ahmed said, "In response to the Chhatra Dal's application and with approval from the Rail Bhaban, a special train has been allocated. This will not interfere with the regular train schedule."

Besides, an urgent notice from the Eastern Zone of Bangladesh Railway has instructed railway officials in the Chattogram and Dhaka divisions to take necessary measures for the smooth operation of the special service, for which the BNP student wing has spent Tk10 lakh, a senior railway official confirmed The Business Standard.

The special PHT-type train will operate on the Chattogram-Dhaka-Chattogram route, featuring 20 coaches with a seating capacity of 1,126 passengers. The train is scheduled to depart from Chattogram at 7:15am tomorrow and arrive in Dhaka at 1:15pm.

The return journey from Dhaka's Kamalapur Railway Station is set for 7pm tomorrow, and the train is expected to arrive in Chattogram at 1am on 4 August. Railway security personnel will be deployed from both Dhaka and Chattogram stations.

"Many of our members studying in schools, colleges, and universities are not financially solvent. That's why we have organised for students from the metropolitan, north and south district units, as well as university units, to travel by train," JCD's Chattogram Metropolitan Member Secretary Shariful Islam Tuhin told TBS.

This initiative has been coordinated with BNP leadership, he said, adding that JCD activists from each unit will also travel to the rally via buses, microbuses, and other modes of transport through both personal and party initiatives.

Earlier, on July 19, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami chartered four pairs of special trains from Mymensingh, Sirajganj, Rajshahi, and Chattogram to transport supporters to a national rally at Suhrawardy Udyan. The party paid around Tk32 lakh for the service.