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Train schedule disrupted
FROM PAGE 16
and talking about building new lines were violations of the electoral code of conduct, Sujan said he was doing his regular job and it was not a violation of the code.
An Awami League MP from Panchagarh-2, Sujan will run in the January 7 national election for the same seat.
The BR launched Cox’s Bazar Express on December 1 after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar rail line on November 11.
Considering the huge demand for train tickets, the BR is going to introduce the second intercity train on this route from January 1, Sujan said.
“We will send a summary of the train to the prime minister with several proposed names for it. After having permission from her, we will launch the new train.”
The minister said the new train, which will have 780 seats (330 AC chair and 480 non-AC chair), will leave Dhaka at 6:15am and reach Cox’s Bazar at 3:00pm with five-minute stops at the Dhaka Airport Station and 20-minute stops at the Chattogram station.
He said the train will leave Cox’s Bazar at 8:00pm and reach Dhaka at 4:30am. The fares of non-AC chair tickets would be Tk 695, AC chair Tk 1,325, AC seat Tk 1,590 and AC berth Tk 2,380.
Sujan said they would also launch a commuter train on the Jashore-Khulna-Mongla route on January 1.
The newly laid Khulna-Mongla rail line was inaugurated by the prime ministers of Bangladesh and India on November 1 this year.
The train will make two roundtrips from Jashore to Mongla daily and one roundtrip on Jashore-Khulna route daily.
The fair from Jashore to Mongla will be Tk 120 to Tk 200, depending on seat category, he said.
A reporter at the press briefing said he submitted a written complaint about the poor condition of an AC berth on a Chattogram-bound train from Dhaka about six months ago, but he was yet to get any response.
The minister then said the authorities might not have informed him about the steps they have taken.
Asked about the delay in the launch of the Burimari Express, Sujan said a problem regarding the route has been solved and the train will be launched soon.
About a Panchagarh-bound train from Dhaka reaching the northern district late at night due to delays, the minister said the problem may remain until a double line is built on the route.

Hasina
FROM PAGE 16
“Sheikh Hasina Wazed, the longest serving prime minister in the history of Bangladesh, is currently serving her fourth term,” US magazine Forbes wrote in its profile of Hasina.
“She is also the world’s longest-serving female head of government,” it added.