Khulna-Mongla railway will start running from June 1 tomorrow. The paid commuter train of Khulna-Benapole route will run on this new route. The train will leave Mongla destination from Benapole at 9 am tomorrow, June 1, and reach Mongla at 12:35 pm. Then the train will leave Mongla at 1 PM and reach Benapole at 4:30 PM. The distance of this route is 138.64 km. The number of seats on the train is 676.

It should be noted that the Khulna-Mongla-Benapole train line (new line) was inaugurated last November. Seven months later, trains will start running on this railway tomorrow, June 1.

Four thousand crore rupees have been spent on the construction of this new railway project. Most of the work on the project has already been completed. Meanwhile, although the new railway has been built at a cost of Tk 4000 crore, train movement will start from June 1 on the Khulna-Mongla-Benapole route with the old engine and bogie 'Khulna Payla Express Benapole'.

One-third of the total cost of the investment project, i.e., one thousand crore rupees, has been borne by the Government of Bangladesh. On the other hand, on behalf of the Government of India, the Exim Bank has invested two-thirds, i.e., 3000 crore rupees.

Md. Ariful Islam Khulna, director, and additional chief engineer of the construction project, said that connecting the current network of the country's railway with Mongla, the second-largest seaport of Bangladesh, and establishing rail connections with Mongla port to neighboring countries, attracting tourists to enjoy the natural beauty of the world's largest mangrove Sundarbans.

The Khulna-Mongla Port Railway Project has been implemented with the aim and objective of facilitating comfortable rail travel to Mongla Port, expanding the railway network, and making Bangladesh Railway a profitable enterprise by increasing its revenue.

He said that regular train service on the Mongla-Benapole route with old trains started from June 1, but new trains will be added to this route after Qurbani Eid, and the number of trains will also increase.

Meanwhile, as the Khulna-Mongla railway has been launched, the businessmen of the region are looking at the matter positively. Everyone will benefit from using Mongla port. Economic activities will increase in dynamics. Government revenue will increase. The economic potential of the southern region will open up. The cost of transporting goods from Mongla will be reduced by half.

END/V7N/SDK/DK/