Dhaka-Benapole train service via Padma Bridge from Dec 2

Train services on the Dhaka-Benapole route via the Padma Bridge will start on December 2.
Padma Rail Link Project Director Md Afzal Hossain said, “We are hopeful about officially launching passenger train services on the Dhaka-Benapole section via the Padma Bridge from December 2.”
“On that day, the Sundarbans Express train will leave Khulna for Kamalapur Railway Station around 6:00am,” he said, adding that the Benapole Express will leave Kamalapur for Benapole around 11:00am on the same day.
The total journey time from Dhaka to Benapole will be approximately three and a half hours.
The newly constructed broad gauge single rail line connects the existing Khulna-bound rail tracks via Rupdia and Singia stations. The 172-kilometre new railway line from Kamalapur to Rupdia and Singiya stations has been constructed at a cost of Tk 37,155 crore.
If the Benapole-bound railway line via the Padma Bridge is operational, the distance from Dhaka to Jashore will be reduced by 200 kilometres, which will halve the travel time, said India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry Director Matiar Rahman. Currently, it takes more than eight hours to reach Jashore from Dhaka.
He also said if the rail route is operational, Bangladesh’s trade with India will grow.
Padma Rail Link Project Director Md Afzal Hossain said that the rail line project is the largest for the railway in terms of cost.
More than half of the cost is being provided by China as loan assistance. The Dhaka-Bhanga section of this line opened in October last year and five trains are running on this section.