To make the journey of the homebound passengers during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha comfortable and hassle-free, special additional coaches will be added to nine intercity Western Zone (WZ) trains of Bangladesh Railway.
According to railway sources, the decision to add these extra coaches will be in effect for various periods from May 23 to June 7.
In addition, a special train will run between Joydebpur and Parbatipur for the convenience of passengers in the northern region.
Farid Ahmed, General Manager of West Zone Railway, said that for Eid-ul-Azha, one extra coach will be added before Eid and two extra coaches after Eid to nine intercity trains of Western Railway. These will include both non-AC and AC coaches.
As per the decision, this extra passenger capacity will generally be available from May 23 to May 27 before Eid, and from May 29 to June 7 after Eid. However, authorities said that train No. 793 (Panchagarh Express) will not run on May 27.
According to railway information, extra coaches will remain attached to the Nilphamari/Rocket and Sirajganj Express from May 23 to June 6.
In addition, for Eid, these extra coaches will be added before and after the holiday to the Rajshahi-route trains — Banalata Express, Silkcity Express, Padma Express and Dhumketu Express — as well as to the northern trains Drutojan Express, Panchagarh Express and Ekota Express.
To implement this huge task and supply the extra coaches for Western Railway, workers and employees at the Saidpur Railway Workshop in Nilphamari are working day and night.
At this workshop, one of the oldest in the country established in 1870, a record 127 coaches are being repaired for Eid-ul-Azha, which is 21 more than the 106 repaired for the last Eid-ul-Fitr.
The workshop's Divisional Superintendent (DS), Shah Sufi Nur Mohammad, confirmed that 99 coaches have already been repaired and handed over to the railway's traffic department, and the remaining 28 coaches will be handed over by next Saturday.
In addition, 103 coaches have already been delivered to meet the demand of the Pakshi and Lalmonirhat railway divisions, and the rest will be handed over soon.
These coaches will be used to increase capacity on various important routes including Chilahati, Panchagarh, Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Dhaka and Chattogram.
Despite a severe manpower shortage, the workshop staff are achieving this huge target. Against 2,859 approved posts, only 664 personnel, just 23 percent, are currently working, performing extra duties from morning till night.
Ruhul Amin, engineer in charge of the workshop's Schedule Shop, and Mominul Islam, in charge of the Carriage Shop, said that despite the manpower shortage, making the journey safe and comfortable for homebound people during Eid is their top priority.
With the help of a total of 24 shops including the bogie, heavy repairing, carriage construction and paint shops, work is in full swing to replace dilapidated structures of old coaches, repair trolleys, arrange seating and fix electrical connections.
It is not just the western region. As passenger numbers increase many-fold during Eid travel every year, a total of 251 railway coaches are being prepared across the country this time.
Of these, 127 coaches are targeted for repair at the Saidpur workshop for the western region, and 124 coaches at the Pahartali workshop in Chattogram to keep eastern region train operations normal.
Mostafa Zakir Hasan, superintendent of the Pahartali Railway Workshop, said that compared to Eid-ul-Fitr, the tendency and pressure of people returning home is higher during Eid-ul-Azha. Therefore, they started coach repair work a month and a half ago.
Already, 99 out of 124 coaches have been repaired and handed over to the transport department, and the remaining coaches will be handed over before the Eid holidays begin.
The railway's transport department said that in addition to adding two to five extra coaches to regular trains during the Eid journey, special trains will be operated on various important routes so that passengers can return home smoothly and comfortably.
Bd-Pratidin English/ AM
