Eid holidaymakers suffer due to delays in train departure 

Home-bound people for the Eid-ul-Azha celebration suffered a lot on Tuesday following a schedule disruption of multiple trains for the different routes of the country.

On the first day of Bangladesh Railway's services ahead of the Eid holidays, a total of eighteen trains left Dhaka for different destinations from 6 am to 11 am. Of them, six trains left Kamalapur Station delayed between one hour and one and a half-hour.

People were seen waiting for hours for the trains at the platform. Most of the passengers on the first day were women and children as job holders usually send family members to the village home earlier. It was hard for them to have to wait as the trains ran late.

Besides, many job holders who came to help the family get on the trains were in misery because of the schedule disruption as they might get delayed for office after seeing off their dear ones.

Sheuly Begum, a passenger of Sundarban Express, who was travelling with her two daughters, said they suffered due to a lack of sitting arrangement while the train was delayed by over an hour. Also as females, they faced huge hassles in getting on the train due to the mad rush.

Shafiqur Rahman, a private employee, said he came to the station to see off his family members and then go to his office.  Now, the train's delay might make him late for the office.

The Nilsagar Express train was the first to leave Dhaka's Kamalapur Railway Station for Chilahati of Nilphamari on Tuesday. It left the station one hour behind schedule.

The Dhumketu Express train was scheduled to depart the platform at 7 am, but it started for Rajshahi at 8:30 am, late by one and a half hours.

Tarakandi-bound Agnibina Express also ran late by an hour and ten minutes.  

The Khulna-bound Sundarban Express and Dewanganj-bound Teesta Express also failed to depart on time.

However, the railway authorities say there was no 'major disruption' to the train schedules so far.

"Only three trains-- Rangpur Express, Nilsagar Express and Sundarban Express -- ran slightly late. It is not a schedule collapse. It is an operational delay," said Kamalapur Railway Station Manager Md Masud Sarwar.

"The train was delayed due to its delay in arrival at the station. If there are no untoward incidents or accidents, we will be able to have trains depart on time for the rest of the Eid journey," he said.

Noting that one-hour delay of trains is normal, Masud Sarwar said, "There was a time when the trains which were scheduled for morning left Kamalapur in the afternoon, the trains which were scheduled for afternoon left Dhaka at midnight or the next day. Now that condition does not exist. Now, we aim to make people's Eid journey safe. With these considerations, the trains run with some delay."