Despite running at a loss, the railway has again launched a mango and cattle special train to carry mangoes cheaply to the capital. Abdul Odud, MP for Chapainawabganj-3, inaugurated the train at Chapainawabganj railway station on the afternoon of Monday, 10 June.
Present were Chapainawabganj Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mst Tasmina Khatun, Western Railway additional general manager Ahmed Hossain Masum, chief engineer Md Asadul Haque, Rajshahi divisional railway manager Shah Sufi Nur Mohammad and Chapainawabganj station master Obaidullah, among others.
This year the train will reach Dhaka via the Padma Bridge instead of the Jamuna Bridge. It is the fifth time the railway authorities have run the train for mango transport.
First day and schedule
On its first day the mango special train left Chapainawabganj carrying mangoes given in the report as 1,845, with no unit stated. Farmers and traders booked the fruit for Dhaka at three stations in the district from morning to afternoon, and the train earned Tk 2,756 in revenue that day.
Railway sources said its six luggage vans can carry 28.83 tonnes of mangoes.
The train will leave Rohanpur station in Chapainawabganj for Dhaka at 4pm every day. It will stop at 15 stations on the way, including Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi, Abdulpur, Ishwardi, Poradah, Rajbari, Faridpur and Bhanga, and reach Dhaka at 2.15am.
Carrying a kilogram of mangoes to Dhaka will cost Tk 1.47 from Chapainawabganj, Tk 1.43 from Rajshahi, Tk 1.19 from Poradah, Tk 1.07 from Rajbari, Tk 1.01 from Faridpur and 98 paisa from Bhanga.
Cattle wagons cost more
Farmers can send livestock on the train from 12 to 14 June. The wagon fare has risen by Tk 2,910 this year: carrying animals in each wagon will cost Tk 14,730, against Tk 11,820 last time.
Four years of losses
According to Western Railway figures, the mango special ran for 46 days from 5 June to 21 July 2020. That year it carried 1,200 tonnes of mangoes but no sacrificial animals.
Over the four years from 2020 to 2023 the train carried 3,995 tonnes of mangoes, earning the railway Tk 46,29,140. Fuel over the same four years cost Tk 92.91 lakh, leaving a loss of Tk 46,61,860.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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