Kamalapur station teems with travellers as Eid exodus continues apace

The Kamalapur Railway Station is bustling with activity as thousands of travellers headed home on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha.

All trains departing from the station on Friday morning were full, while most were leaving on time.

The Panchaghar-bound Ekota Express at the Kamalapur Station was scheduled to depart at 10am. But eager passengers began hopping on the train right after it entered the platform at 8:30am. Many were seen standing inside the coaches, while others climbed onto the roof.

Ashraful Alam, a passenger, said: "This train runs late every day, but not today. The train arrived ahead of schedule. I can get into my seat without a problem."

On Thursday night, the Dhaka-bound Parjatak Express from Cox's Bazar met with an accident on the Kalurghat Bridge in Chattogram and could not reach the capital on time. Although it was supposed to depart from Kamalapur at 6:15am, it hadn't arrived at the station as of 9am and the departure was rescheduled to 10:20am.

About 800-900 passengers were left waiting.

Abdullah Al Asif, a passenger from Cox's Bazar, told bdnews24.com: "We arrived at 5:45am and have been waiting since then. The train had an accident at 11:00pm last night. It is now 9:00am. Around 1,000 people are waiting here. No one is here to tell us when the train will arrive."

The Rangpur Express was scheduled to depart at 9:10am. However, it remained glued to the platform until 9:40am, with its departure pushed back to after 10:00am.

Shaheen Alam, a passenger travelling to Santahar, said: "The train was scheduled to depart at 9:10am. We reached the station around 8:00am. But the train arrived late. However, it wasn't as late as in previous years."