Mahanagar Express Makes First Feni Stop with 47 Passengers for Cox's Bazar, Leaving an Hour Late on Day One

The Mahanagar Express has travelled to Cox's Bazar for the first time with a stop at Feni Railway Station, carrying 47 passengers from there. The new stop on the train's extended Dhaka to Cox's Bazar route ends a long wait for passengers in Feni.

On the first day, however, the train left Feni station one hour and four minutes behind schedule. State Minister for the Ministry of Railways and the Road Transport and Highways Division, Habibur Rashid Habib, rode the train from Dhaka to Feni on this journey.

According to Feni Railway Station sources, a total of 62 seats are allocated for journeys from Feni station on the Mahanagar Express: 15 for Chattogram-bound passengers and 47 for Cox's Bazar-bound passengers.

The allocated seats include two AC berths, 15 Snigdha seats and 30 Shovan chair seats.

Earlier, on Monday (26 October) at 8:30 pm, the train started its journey to Cox's Bazar from platform three of Kamalapur Railway Station in Dhaka.

The train was scheduled to reach Feni station at 1:04 am and, after a two-minute halt, to leave at 1:06 am. On the first day it reached Feni at 1:55 am and left at 2:10 am.

Compared with the schedule, the train was 51 minutes late arriving in Feni and one hour and four minutes late leaving the station.

Before the departure from Feni, State Minister Habibur Rashid Habib exchanged greetings with the train's passengers and welcomed them with flowers. Feni-1 MP Rafiqul Alam Majnu and senior railway officials were present at the time.

Md Zahidul Islam Mia is serving as the train's loco master, Shah Alam as assistant loco master and Imrul Kayes as guard. The locomotive number is 3029, and the train has 18 coaches.

Local passengers had earlier demanded a Feni stop for the Cox's Bazar Express and the Parjatak Express running on the Dhaka-Cox's Bazar route. The extension of the Mahanagar Express route has created an opportunity to travel directly from Feni to Cox's Bazar.

However, with only 47 seats allocated for Cox's Bazar-bound passengers from Feni, there are doubts about how much of the demand will be met.

Feni Railway Station Master Md Harun said the Mahanagar Express left for Cox's Bazar after a halt at Feni station, with 47 Cox's Bazar-bound passengers from Feni on board. He said there was some delay on the first day because of various formalities.