Tk100m train tickets sold in three months of operation

COX'S BAZAR, Mar 23: The railway authorities logged sale of Tk100 million train tickets at the Cox's Bazar iconic railway station which started commercial operation three months back.
During December-January period, tickets worth Tk6 crore were sold while Tk4 crore tickets were sold in February last.
The main attraction of the beautiful railway station is its oyster-shaped structure with crystal water flowing around; amidst which are trains' approaching and departing.
The railway station has been modeled on the design like that of an airport in the developed world. Dohazari-Cox's Bazar railway line was like a dream for the people of Cox's Bazar.
Work on the railway line was completed in November 2023 through overcoming various challenges and obstacles.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the railway on November 11. Commercial train operation on the Dhaka-Cox's Bazar route started on December 1, 2023.
Initially, Cox's Bazar Express train was run but due to high demand from passengers, another train Parjatak Express was put into service. But still train tickets are not available as per demand from the passengers.
Passengers are constantly increasing on the Dhaka-Cox's Bazar route, which the station authorities are struggling to handle.
Cox's Bazar railway station has arrangements for the world-class amenities like ticket counter, reception hall, lockers, shopping mall, restaurant, star hotel, mosque and escalator.
But even after three months of train operation, these facilities have not yet been made fully operational. There is a room where sale of train tickets goes on.
Simon Uddin, a resident of Chattogram, said that currently the number of trains is only two. As a result, enough tickets are not available now.
"Be it from Chattogram or Dhaka. Another problem is that we are not getting the train from Chattogram at the scheduled time because there are two trains. One leaves at 4 am. So if someone wants to get seat in hotel, they should reach Cox's Bazar at 7 or 8 in the morning. Hotel check-in time is 12 o'clock. In that case, it becomes a problem. I hope that if there are more trains, the station will be a little more crowded. At the same time it will be beneficial for us- Chattogram residents," Simon added.
Local resident Abul Kashem said, "We could not even think that Cox's Bazar train will start from Chattogram. Now the dream has come true, and most importantly we got the iconic railway station of Cox's Bazar. Travelling by train is very comfortable and saves time."
Mir Rezaul, a resident of Dhaka, said that all the ticket counters inside the iconic station have not yet been opened. There is no seating arrangement inside the station.
The scenery outside the station is very beautiful and of international standard. But it feels a little bad for the environment and the dirt around.
Tourist Shafiqul Islam said that the facilities that are supposed to be available at the iconic station, such as overnight stay facilities, lockers, and ticketing facilities are still not fully available. If the government pays attention to these aspects, it will be very good for the people.
Tour Operators Association of Cox's Bazar President Tofail Ahmed said that the tourism industry is benefiting from the launch of train service in Cox's Bazar.
Due to the new railway network, Cox's Bazar will be a destination of more foreign tourists in the future giving the tourism industry a chance to turn around.
In 2010, a 128-kilometre railway project was taken up from Dohazari to Ramu to Cox's Bazar and from Ramu to Ghumdhum near Myanmar.
However, due to geopolitical complications, work on 28-km starch of rail line from Cox's Bazar to Myanmar was stalled for the time being.
The railway authorities said that in the last three months, tickets worth Tk100 million have been sold from Cox's Bazar iconic railway station.
Besides, work on the iconic station will be fully completed by next June. Afterwards Bangladesh Railway will hand over the station to a third party and then full operation of the station will start, said the company implementing the construction work.
Station Master of Cox's Bazar Railway Station Gholam Rabbani said since the train service started, tickets worth Tk 100 million have been sold so far.
Now two trains namely Cox's Bazar Express and Parjatak Express are running on Dhaka-Cox's Bazar route.
"We hope that more trains will be put into service on this route very soon. The two trains from Dhaka namely Turna and Mahanagar can be connected to Cox's Bazar. Besides, plying of Cox's Bazar-Chattogram commuter train is likely to be started at the same time," added Golam Rabbani.
The station master also said, "As the entire project of Cox's Bazar Iconic Railway Station has not been completed yet, passengers are still not getting all the facilities. But the project will be completed very soon. This will increase the speed of the train as well as bring an impetus to the service of the iconic railway station with passengers starting to enjoy world-class facilities."
A total of Tk180.34 billion (Tk18,034 crores) has been spent on the construction of the 101- km railway from Chattogram's Dohazari to Cox's Bazar.

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