Dhaka-Khulna rail route: Final test run via Padma Bridge completed

The Dhaka-Khulna direct train service via the Padma Bridge is set to launch soon, as the final test run successfully reached Khulna at 1:10pm today.
The trial train, travelling at approximately 100kmh, departed Kamalapur Railway Station at 9:10am with 12 coaches and completed the journey in three hours and 45 minutes.
Bangladesh Railway Director General Sardar Shahadat Ali said that this was the third and final test run for the Dhaka-Khulna section.
Railways Ministry Secretary Abdul Baki, Director General Sardar Shahadat Ali, Railway Western Region General Manager Mamunul Islam, and other senior officials were on board during the trial.
Speaking to journalists, the railway secretary announced that commercial train services on this route are expected to begin in the first week of December.
Under the project the government has constructed the 172-km broad-gauge single line rail track from Kamalapur to Rupdia and Singia stations at a cost of Taka 37,155 crore.
The rail line has provision to upgrade it into a double line.
The Dhaka-Bhanga section of this route became operational in October 2022, with five trains currently running daily. The full operation of the Dhaka-Khulna line will significantly reduce travel time, cutting the distance between Dhaka and Jashore by nearly 200 kilometres and halving the current eight-hour journey via the Jamuna Bridge.
The new line will directly connect Dhaka with Khulna and facilitate links between the country’s two largest seaports, Chattogram and Mongla.