Trains Return to the Dhaka-Bound Line of the Dhaka-Chattogram Route After 24 Hours; Both Lines Back to Normal

More than 24 hours after the Karnaphuli Commuter Express derailed at Laksam in Cumilla, train services resumed on the Dhaka-bound (up) line of the Dhaka-Chattogram railway. At 12:50pm on Thursday, the Chattogram-to-Mymensingh Bijoy Express crossed the accident site, restoring normal movement on the line that had remained closed since the derailment.

Confirming the development, Omar Faruk Bhuiyan, station master of Laksam Railway Junction, said: 'Trains are now running on both lines under the normal schedule. Everything is normal now.'

Earlier, repair work on the damaged track at the accident site was completed at 7am on Thursday. However, a coach of the derailed Karnaphuli Commuter Express was still lying across the up line, preventing trains from using it. Only after the coach was removed did the first train pass through the up line at noon.

Railway officials said the derailed coaches were cleared by around 5am, but one coach remained at the site. An engine was sent from Nangalkot station to move it; the engine reached the spot at 11:40am and returned to Laksam Junction with the coach at 11:55am. The Bijoy Express then crossed the site at 12:50pm, formally reopening the up line.

According to Laksam Junction sources, the up line had been closed since the accident at around 12:30pm on Wednesday. During that period, trains in both directions were run over the single down line, causing slower operations and inconvenience for passengers.

Earlier in the morning, the Chattogram-to-Dhaka Chattala Express crossed Laksam Junction via the down line at 10:23am, followed by the Chattogram-to-Sylhet Paharika Express at 10:48am. Although repairs to the up line were finished, the two trains could not use it until the stranded coach was removed.

On Wednesday at around 12:30pm, five coaches of the Karnaphuli Commuter Express, along with three wheels of its engine, derailed in the outer area of Naoti station near Azgara Bazar in Laksam. At least seven passengers were injured, though none seriously; they received primary treatment.

A rescue train from Chattogram reached the site on Wednesday evening, after which work began to recover the derailed train and repair the damaged track. Recovery was completed by around 5am on Thursday, and track repairs finished by 7am.

An assistant engineer of the railway's engineering department has been suspended over the derailment. He was suspended on allegations that track repair work was under way at the accident site without informing the railway control room.

The suspended official, Sarwar Alam, was in charge of the Feni region under the engineering department of the railway's eastern zone. The track repair work near Naoti station's outer area by Azgara Bazar in Laksam was being carried out under his supervision.

The railway authorities have also formed a four-member investigation committee to find the cause of the accident. Mostafizur Rahman Bhuiyan, divisional railway manager of Chattogram, disclosed the information at around 11pm on Wednesday.

The Dhaka-Chattogram route is one of the country's busiest rail corridors, carrying thousands of passengers and large volumes of freight every day. With one line closed for over a day, passengers at both ends endured schedule disruptions and long waits; the reopening of both lines has ended that suffering. Attention now turns to the investigation committee's report, which is expected to answer how a train entered a line under repair and derailed.