Staff Reporter:
The West Zone of Bangladesh Railway will launch a ‘special mango train’ on Chapainawabganj-Dhaka route via Rajshahi from June 10 for the fifth consecutive time.
This time, the special train will depart from Rohanpur railway station at 4 pm and reach to Dhaka at 2.15 am with stoppage at 14 stations via Padma Bridge with facilities of transporting mangoes safely with low-cost and less-time.
Consisting of six luggage vans, the special mango train will have the capacity of carrying 172.98 tonnes of mangoes.
It will cost Taka 1.43 to carry a kilogram of mango to Dhaka from Rajshahi, and it is Taka 1.48 from Chapainawabganj to Dhaka.
The Railway West Zone officials revealed this at a seminar titled “Mango transportation to different districts from Rajshahi division through railway” here on Saturday.
Commissioner office of Rajshahi division organized the seminar at its conference hall supported by the railway ministry discussing and devising ways and means on how to make the mango transportation from the region through railway successful.
Railway Minister Zillul Hakim addressed the seminar as chief guest while Divisional Commissioner Dr Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir was in the chair.
Prof Shafiqur Rahman Badsha, MP, Abul Kalam, MP, Railway Secretary Dr Humayun Kabir Director General of Bangladesh Railway Sarder Shahadat Ali, General Manager of the West Zone of Bangladesh Railway Asim Kumar Talukder, Commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police Biplob Bijoy Talukder and Additional Deputy Inspector General of Police of Rajshahi Range Saiful Islam also spoke.
The meeting was told that the railway has transported 39,95,798 kilograms of mangoes earning revenue worth about Taka 46,29,140 during the last four years since 2020.
Sharing their views, mango farmers, traders, entrepreneurs and exporters unequivocally called for solving the existing problems related to transportation of mangoes through railway to make the venture popular.
Railway Minister Zillul Hakim urged the mango traders, businessmen and exporters to transport their mangoes to different areas from the Rajshahi region through railway as its low-cost and safe.
“We are working relentlessly to make the railway eligible for mango transportation as per directive of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” he said, adding that full-length support of all stakeholders is needed to this end.
Referring to the existing problems in terms of transporting mangoes through railway, Minister Zillul Hakim assured that all the problems will be solved for making the railway for mango transportation popular.
He also said they have taken steps for signing memorandum of understandings with some of the courier services related to mango transportation by the railway.
