Due to the suspension of train movement after curfew imposing across the country due to the quota reform movement, the Pakshi division of the Western Railway is facing losses. Due to the suspension of passenger trains, there has been a loss of about Tk 15 crore in the last ten days.
Pakshi Divisional Manager (DRM) of Western Railway Shah Sufi Noor Mohammad confirmed this information on Monday.
According to the Pakshi Divisional Office of Railway Western Region, the Pakshi Railway Division covers the largest area of the country. Pakshi has the headquarters office of Divisional Railways. Under this important section, 114 passenger trains run daily on various routes including the capital Dhaka. Among them there are 56 intercity trains.
According to railway calculations, Ishwardi's Pakshi Railway Division earns an average of Tk 1.5 crore from these passenger trains. Railways also earn from freight and oil trains.
Due to the fear of sabotage, all trains with the capital Dhaka were stopped from the night of July 19 (Friday). The next day, 20th July (Saturday) morning, 114 passenger trains were stopped. Due to this, the passenger sector of Pakshi Railway Division alone is deprived of Tk one and a half crore of income every day. As such, an average loss of around Tk 15 crore has been incurred in the last ten days.
At the same time, the Pakshi Railway Division has suffered losses as freight and oil trains have also been stopped for a few days. In the meantime, freight trains started running on a limited basis from last Tuesday (July 23).
However, due to the situation, the Pakshi Railway Department has already prepared some trains to increase the revenue in the passenger sector. The train will start running only after getting permission from the higher authorities.
Railway Headquarters Pakshi Divisional Office Engineer-2 Birbal Mondal said, "We are ready to run all passenger trains. Trains will be run all over the country, including the capital Dhaka, if we get permission from the higher authorities."
Acknowledging the decrease in railway revenue in the passenger sector, Pakshi Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Shah Sufi Noor Mohammad said, "The number of passengers transported by train in the country is also increasing due to the increase in service quality." But due to the quota reform movement, trains have been stopped in the Pakshi railway section for the sake of safety. This has reduced the daily income of the passenger sector of the train. He further said, "We are trying to open the passenger trains for movement across the country as soon as the situation normalizes." However, he also said that it is not possible to say anything about when the situation will be normal or train movement will start.
ZH
