RAJSHAHI, May 26, 2021 (BSS) – The West Zone of Bangladesh Railway is going to launch a ‘special mango train’ on Chapainawabganj-Dhaka route via Rajshahi tomorrow for the second consecutive time.
Nasir Uddin, Divisional Commercial Manager of the zone, said the initiative has also been taken to transport mangoes at a lower cost for welfare of the mango traders and farmers amid the Covid-19 pandemic situation.
“We have taken the decision of transporting mango to Dhaka from this mango producing area for the benefit of the growers and traders,” Nasir Uddin said .
The train will depart Chapainawabganj at 4.00 pm, while from Rajshahi station at 5.50 pm and ix expected to reach Dhaka at 2am.
The cargo train will carry a maximum 150 tons of mangoes in five wagons every day. So, farmers and traders can transport goods at their will. It will cost Tk 1.17 to carry a kilogram of mango to Dhaka from Rajshahi and the same is Tk 1.30 from Chapainawabganj to Dhaka.
Nasir Uddin mentioned that transport of mangoes in the special train would cost Tk 1,117 per ton whereas courier services cost Tk 20,000 per ton and private trucks cost around Tk 2,000 per ton.
The train will make a stoppage for loading mangoes at 14 stations on the Chapainawabgonj-Dhaka railway route via Rajshahi. The parcel train may have stoppages at other stations based on parcel booking and unloading.
In addition to mango, there is provision of carrying all kinds of vegetables, seasonal fruits, eggs and other agricultural products at cheaper rate in the special train, he added.
The railway porters will conduct all sorts of the loading and unloading works of the goods. To this end, the porters were imparted need-based training on how to handle the goods from booking to loading as well to unloading properly.
Last year, the Mango Special Train was launched for the first time in the wake of growers’ transportation problems amid the Covid-19 pandemic. “We have earned Tk 9.30 lakh revenue by transporting 857 tones of mango, lychee and other agricultural goods ,” Nasir Uddin added.
Officials said mango was cultivated on 26,150 hectares of areas in Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj districts where it’s expected to yield 2,44,000 tones of mangoes this year.
Mango groves were also nurtured on 12,671 hectares of land in Naogaon district where the target was fixed to produce 1,61,242 tones of mangoes while in Natore district is expected to produce 56,021 tones of mangoes on 4,823 hectares of land.