As every year, the Mango Special train has been launched to carry mangoes. Transporting mangoes from Rajshahi to Dhaka costs Tk 1.50 per kg, yet traders are not responding.

Business leaders say traders will not be interested in sending mangoes by train unless the railway coordinates with the postal department to offer a digital service. Every year the Mango Special's costs are more than double its income. Now the route has also grown longer: the train used to run over the Bangabandhu Bridge but now goes via the Padma Bridge, adding 49km. This extra distance has come as a fresh blow, adding to the cost of the journey.

According to the railway, Bangladesh Railway launched the Mango Special train service in 2020 to ease problems in transporting mangoes. Continuing this, the train is again running to Dhaka this year with mangoes via Rahanpur, Chapainawabganj and Rajshahi.

Last year, when the train ran over the Bangabandhu Bridge, the distance from Rahanpur to Dhaka was 346km; this year, via the Padma Bridge, it has grown by 49km.

Covering 346km via the Bangabandhu Bridge used to cost Tk 8,96,432. Via the Padma Bridge the route has grown to 395km, costing Tk 10,23,840. As a result, taking the train to Dhaka via the Padma Bridge costs an extra Tk 1,54,408. Covering the extra 49km costs Tk 77,204 each time, and the same again on the return journey.

The train has been losing money since it was launched. In 2020 the Mango Special ran for 47 days and carried 11,99,059kg of mangoes, earning Tk 13,37,536 against costs of Tk 56,40,000. In 2021 it ran for 49 days and carried 22,99,920kg, earning Tk 26,30,928 against costs of Tk 58,80,000. In 2022 it carried 1,78,778kg, earning Tk 2,12,174 against costs of Tk 12 lakh 40 thousand.

Most recently, in 2023, it carried 12,07,000kg of mangoes, earning Tk 4,48,502 against costs of Tk 19,62,000. In other words, over the past four years the train earned Tk 46,39,140 and spent Tk 1 crore 47 lakh 22 thousand, leaving the railway with a loss of Tk 1 crore 82 thousand 860.

On the first day, only 4.5 tonnes of mangoes were sent on the train, which has a capacity of 173 tonnes. The cost of carrying each kg of mangoes is Tk 1.47, yet traders are not responding. They say business by this route is not possible unless internal facilities improve. The railway authorities say their efforts to attract traders are continuing.

Anwar Ali, a mango grower in Rajshahi city, said: "Even though couriers charge more, we are more comfortable booking and sending mangoes by courier than by train, because couriers deliver the goods to the customer. At the station, even if the mangoes are lying there, there is no one to give information, and no one tells you the mangoes have arrived. Naturally, traders are not interested because of the hassle. Even if it costs less, they are not interested. Even if it costs more, courier is better."

Enamul Haque, a mango grower from Bagha in Rajshahi, said mangoes sent by train have to be kept at either Kamalapur or Airport station, and customers face trouble taking them from there to their destination, so they prefer couriers to the train.

Business leaders say that to make this more profitable, the railway must coordinate with the postal department and show more professionalism.

Masudur Rahman Rinku, president of the Rajshahi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: "Carrying mangoes by special train is undoubtedly a good initiative, but traders do not benefit much from it, because it does not provide a door-to-door service. Our postal department has many vehicles and a digital system. If they hold an inter-departmental meeting and carry the mangoes door to door after the train journey, then it will be profitable, and traders will show interest too."

The railway authorities say they are working to bring the Mango Special's service to mango traders' doorsteps.

Mohammad Ahsan Ullah Bhuiyan, chief operating superintendent of Bangladesh Railway West, said: "The railway minister came to Rajshahi to promote the Mango Special train, and a railway team has been working on publicity for the past month. I hope we will get a response from traders soon."

He said that since the Bangabandhu Bridge has only one track, the train is being sent via the Padma Bridge, which will ease pressure on passenger services at Eid and reduce schedule disruptions.

He added: "There is no loss here. This is a public-interest initiative. We want people to benefit from it, and that is why it is launched every year with the public good in mind. But we will soon be able to make it a symbol of traders' trust."

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