Dhaka, July 01 (UNB) – Container trains started plying between Dhaka and Chittagong Sunday following severe damage to two railway bridges near Chittagong due to flash floods on June 26.
 
“A large number of containers were stuck in Chittagong port. So, considering the economic loss to the country, we started to run container trains on Chittagong to Dhaka route today,” Communications Minister Obaidul Quader told reporters at his Secretariat office on Sunday.
 
He said although the authorities concerned took 15 days to repair damaged bridges, they were able to restore Dhaka-Chittagong rail link after a day of suspension.
 
“We feared that flash flood would hit the region again. As the weather was favourable, we resumed rail communication between Dhaka-Chittagong on Thursday and container train service today,” the minister said.       
 
Torrential rains virtually cut off Chittagong from the rest of Bangladesh last week as a part of the rail bridge between Bhatiari and Kumira was washed away.


About selling of train tickets, Quader said the railway authorities will sell 25 percent of train tickets through E-ticketing System from today (Sunday). Earlier, 10 percent of ticket was sold through the E-ticketing System.
 
He also informed UNB that the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) has already introduced six passenger buses for women in the city and the government has plans to introduce BRTC bus service in every district in future.