A cattle special train carrying 400 cows in 25 wagons has left Islampur station in Jamalpur for Dhaka. The first train left Islampur Bazar station at 6.30pm on Saturday, 24 June.

Traders say transporting animals by this train cuts costs and avoids hassle, and greatly reduces the risk of accidents. They want the service to run every year.

Railway station sources said that because demand is higher than last year, the service will run for two days. The first special train left Islampur railway station for Dhaka at 6.30pm on Saturday with 400 cows, 16 in each of 25 wagons. Another train was to leave the same station at 9pm with 304 cows, 16 in each of 19 wagons. It would then pick up 96 more cows in six wagons, 16 per wagon, at Melandah station before reaching Dhaka.

Cattle traders from the Sirajabad area, including Matin Mia, Kamal Hossain and Iman Ali, said they are very happy with the service. By train they can reach Dhaka without trouble and the risk of accidents is much lower. When cattle are taken by road, extortion money has to be paid in many places, and the jolting on the road leaves the cattle in very poor condition. They said there is no such trouble by train.

Traders Al Amin Mia, Faruk Mia, Mister Ali and many others said that taking a truckload of cattle to Dhaka used to cost Tk 20,000 to 22,000. Now they can carry 16 cattle comfortably in one wagon for only Tk 8,000.

Islampur Bazar railway station master Shaheen Mia said the railway authorities started a special train called "Cattle Special" in 2020 to carry sacrificial animals. The response this year is better than in other years. One train has left, and one more will leave at 9pm and another at around 7pm tomorrow, he said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.