Habibur Rahman Munna:
The country’s train services are completely suspended due to the strike of the running staff. In this situation, BRTC bus service has been launched to ease the suffering of passengers by using train tickets to reach their destinations.
Today, Tuesday at 12 noon, Sylhet-bound passengers left Comilla Railway Station for Sylhet using this service. BRTC officials also said that they are preparing to leave the bus with Dhaka-bound passengers at 3 pm.
However, many passengers are not aware of this service. As a result, they have to pay additional bus fare to reach their destinations. BRTC Comilla Manager (Operations) Md. Mosharraf Hossain Siddiqui said that passengers who have purchased train tickets online can travel on BRTC buses for free. Already, 15 passengers of the Paharika Express from Comilla to Sylhet have left for Sylhet by bus using train tickets.
Passenger Faiza Rahman said, “I am going to Sylhet by bus with a train ticket. However, the journey was supposed to start at 10 am, but it was delayed by two hours.” Another passenger Monirul Islam said, “Those who are coming to return the ticket are aware of the matter. However, many do not know. In any case, the suffering will increase if the train service is not normalized soon.”
On the other hand, Asif Manna, a passenger who did not get the bus due to ignorance about the service, said, “I did not know that you can take the bus with a train ticket. So I had to spend money twice.”
The Bangladesh Railway Running Staff and Workers’ Association is going on a strike from Monday midnight demanding pension and gratuity based on basic salary with the addition of running allowance. This has stopped train services across the country.
In this situation, Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Railways Rezaul Karim Siddiqui said that BRTC bus service has been started to transport passengers on important railway lines. Passengers going to Chittagong, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Khulna, Comilla, Bogra and Mymensingh from Dhaka Railway Station and Airport Railway Station can travel by BRTC bus using train tickets. Similarly, they can also travel to Dhaka from those places.
Comilla Railway Station Master Sheikh Md. Anwar Hossain said that only those passengers who are coming to return their tickets can know about the service. Those who have train tickets can reach their destination using the bus service if they want.
BRTC Manager Mosharraf Hossain said that this service will be operational until further instructions are given. We are ready to provide buses wherever the railway authorities want.
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