<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The test run of a train on Bhanga-Rupdia route began on Saturday from Bhanga junction in Faridpur district as part of Padma Bridge Rail Link project.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The train left for Jashore’s Rupdia from Bhanga around 8:41 am in the morning, said Bhanga Rail Station master Zillur Rahman.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Md Shakhawat Hossian was the locomotive driver of the train and it will run with 120 km speed, he said adding it took only one hour to reach Rupdia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The train will leave for Bhanga from Rupdia rail station on March 31 and it will run on the route for some days on an experimental basis, said Zillur.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A festive mood is prevailing among people over the operation of the train service on Bhanga-Rupdia route.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The trial train run is under the observation of Bangladesh Army and high officials concerned of the Rail project.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Already, a train on Dhaka-Jashore route has launched and the last portion of the project is Bhanga-Jashore which is 87.32 km long.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On October 14, 2023, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the construction work on a rail link between Dhaka and Jashore under the ‘Padma Bridge Rail Link Construction Project.’</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The railway line is being constructed in three phases (plus a 3km link being built between Dhaka and Gandaria): 37km Gandaria-Mawa section, a 42km Mawa-Bhanga section, and an 87km Bhanga Junction-Jashore section. Some 43.2km of loops, siding and Y-connections bring the total track length to 215.2km.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The entire railway project from Dhaka-Jashore is scheduled to be completed by June, 2024.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There will be 20 stations from Dhaka to Jashore, of which 14 are new and 6 are already there. The previous stations are also being modernised. Once completed, trains will be able to run at a speed of 120 to 130 kilometres.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">According to the railway sources, the Padma Bridge Rail Link project, a 172-km railway link being built to connect capital Dhaka to Jashore in the country’s south-west, is on course to be completed in June 2024. - UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/fas</div>