Watching the news, you could be forgiven for thinking
that Bangladesh was not so much a country as a disaster
zone. But you'd be surprised. It is a
fascinating country with a rich and varied history and
at present fairly few tourists. Bangladesh has a
largely British-built rail network linking most major
towns and cities, including Dhaka & Chittagong.
The network is divided into two halves, eastern and
western, by the great rivers which divide the country
itself. The western network is largely broad
gauge, the eastern network largely metre gauge.
Unfortunately, connections between these two networks are often
poor. There is a railway route map at
www.railway.gov.bd.
There is a good train service between the capital city,
Dhaka, and Bangladesh's second city, Chittagong.
Dhaka & Chittagong are both in the eastern half of the
country on the metre-gauge train network, linked by fast
daytime 'InterCity' trains and two good overnight trains
with sleeping-cars. The high-quality InterCity
trains are very popular and often leave full, so make
reservations at the station as soon as you can.
Here is a timetable of the best trains which you can
check at
www.railway.gov.bd:
Dhaka
► Chittagong
Train number:
704
4
722
702
2
742
Notes:
InterCity
Express
InterCity
InterCity
Mail
Turna
Days:
daily
daily
not Sunday
not Friday
Daily
daily
Dhaka depart:
07:40
08:25
15:50
15:30
22:30
23:30
Chittagong arrive:
14:20
19:10
22:35
21:20
07:15
06:10
InterCity =
Fast quality train, fully air-conditioned, restaurant
car, recommended.
AC class seats, 1st class & 2nd
class seats.
Turna = TURNA EXPRESS
InterCity service. Fast quality overnight train, with
air-conditioned 2-berth sleepers, AC
class seats & 1st class seats.
Recommended.
Trains have
AC class, first class, second class. The overnight
train also has 2-berth AC sleepers.
Above: AC class air-conditioned
intercity car on a Dhaka-Chittagong train.
Photo courtesy of Bob Hindley...
Above: AC class seats on a
Dhaka-Chittagong train. Photo courtesy of
Bob Hindley...
Above: AC class 2-berth sleeper on the
Dhaka-Chittagong overnight train (bedding is
provided).
Above: Buying tickets at
Dhaka station. Both photos courtesy of Bob
Hindley...
Travellers' reports...
Traveller S.P Chattopadhyay reports: "I
travelled via AC sleeper on the overnight inter-city
express, and trip was comfortable and uneventful. Train
arrived at platform in Chittagong "new" station about 45
minutes ahead of departure time of 11pm. Compartment
was clean, but the linens looked worn. AC was working
well and arrival into Dhaka was on time at 6:20 am. I
was able to buy the ticket the day before departure,
without any problems. I would recommend this train over
intercity bus travel between the two cities which
involved traffic tie-ups and harrowing
over-taking/lane-changing in face of unheeding opposing
traffic!"
Traveller Maggie Brown reports: "I
travelled from Dhaka to Srimongel in July 2011. I went
up to Srimongel in a 2nd class carriage with reclining
seats without air conditioning, but with the windows
open and fans. On the return journey we were in a
first class cabin that seated 4 with seats that faced
just one way with A/C. Srimongel is north of Dhaka
and famous for its tea plantations and 5 layered tea.
It's a popular weekend trip with the few tourists and
also locals. Both journeys were comfortable but
the 2nd class journey was far more interesting as there
was a constant stream of vendors coming up and down the
aisle and you could look out of the window. With
the fans on and windows open it wasn't uncomfortably hot
at all. In the first class A/C cabin the windows
were frosted and closed and there was nothing to look at
except an empty wall. On both journeys the train was
late (between 30 minutes and 90 minutes late). It took
about 4 hours."
There is no
train service to Cox's Bazaar (Bangladesh's prime beach
resort), but you can take a train from Dhaka to
Chittagong then a bus from there. Bus information
not available.
Above: two views of a 2nd class seats
car on an express from Dhaka to Srimongel. Photos courtesy of
Maggie Brown...
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help with information for this page?
If
you have any photos, travel reports or information which would be useful for
this page, please
e-mail me!
Calcutta
to Dhaka by
direct international train...
A new train service
started on 14 April 2008 between Calcutta (Kolkata) and Dhaka.
Called the 'Maitree (Friendship) Express', it's
run jointly by the Indian Railways & Bangladeshi
Railways. Train service from Calcutta to Dhaka had
been
suspended since the India/Pakistan war in 1965 so
this is a major step forward in the relations between
these two countries.
Calcutta ► Dhaka
Dhaka ►Calcutta
"Maitree Express"
Tuesday
Saturdays
"Maitree Express"
Wednesday
Friday
Train number:
3108
3109
Train number:
3107
3110
0 km
Calcutta (Chitpur
station) depart
07:10
07:10
Dhaka
(Cantonment station) depart
08:10
08:10
122 km
Gede
(Indian time) arrive-depart
09:25-10:55
09:25-10:55
Darshana (Bangladeshi time) arr-dep
13:50-14:50
13:50-14:50
-
Darshana (Bangladeshi time)
11:35-12:35
11:35-12:35
Gede (Indian time) arr/dep
14:30-16:00
14:30-16:00
538 km
Dhaka
(Cantonment station) arrive
18:05
18:05
Calcutta (Chitpur station) arrive
18:10
18:10
Note that the
days of running changed in autumn 2011. The above
days are correct as at October 2011.
Remember that Indian time is
GMT+5½,
Bangladeshi time is GMT+6, so there's a 30 minute time
difference.
Times shown above are local time for the location
concerned.
The distance is 538 km (336 miles) of which 122 km (76
miles) are in India, 416 km (260 miles) are in
Bangladesh. Gede
is the Indian border point, Darshana is the Bangladeshi
border point.
From
Calcutta to Dhaka, customs & immigration take place at
Darshana just inside the Bangladeshi border. From
Dhaka to Calcutta, immigration controls take place at
Dhaka Cantonment station.
Trains 3107 & 3108 use
Bangladesh Railways carriages. Trains 3109 & 3110 use Indian
Railways carriages. Both trains have a catering
car.
You can check these
times and fares at
www.railway.gov.bd, look for the 'Maitree Express'
link.
Fares
Non-AC seat
AC seat
AC first class
$8
$14
$23
Children under 5 half fare, 5
and over full price.
Which
class is best? AC seats and non-AC seats are
in fact identical, and similar in layout & appearance to
Indian AC Chair Class. The only difference is that
AC seats are air-conditioned with sealed windows and
therefore cooler and less dusty, non-AC
seats have opening windows and therefore better views
and photographic opportunities. AC first class has
seats in air-conditioned compartments with sleeping berths for lying
down (yes, even though it's daytime
train!). Choose whichever class you like, all are
acceptable.
How to
buy tickets: Tickets go on sale 60 days before
departure in Calcutta, only 10 days before
departure in Dhaka, and sales close 3pm the day before departure.
In Calcutta, buy tickets at the Fairlie Place
reservation centre at the Foreign Tourist Reservation
Counter, open 10:00-17:00 Mon-Sat, 10:00-14:00 Sundays.
In Dhaka, buy tickets at Dhaka Kamalapur station ticket
office, open 09:00-17:00. Passports & visas must be shown when
booking. Only one-way tickets can be booked.
Daily alternative train+bus
link:
There are two train links from
Calcutta (Sealdah station) to the India/Bangladesh
frontier, one to Gede and one to Bangaon. At Gede,
the Bangladesh railway station of Darsana is a 1km walk
across the frontier, for trains south to Khulna or
northwards, but not to Dhaka. At Bangaon, it's a
short walk across the frontier to Benapol station on the
Bangladeshi side for a daily train to Khulna (but again,
not Dhaka). Please confirm that foreigners are
permitted to cross at your chosen crossing point.
Traveller
Sascha Zaman travelled Dhaka to Calcutta in January
2009: I took the train recently and it was
quite good. Although I travelled first class
(because that was still cheap, about 20 Euro), so I do
not know how the other classes are. Anyway, the
train left quite punctually at 8.30am and at about
2.30pm we arrived the border. Bangladesh
emigration was very easy, though it took almost 2½
hours. Then a short train ride to the Indian side.
There it is a bit annoying, as it took another 2 to 2½
hours, because as the train is coming from Bangladesh
they are really strict with luggage control. They
searched everybody and everything, so it takes quite a
while. At about 6pm the train departed again and
we arrived on schedule exactly at 8.30pm. So the train
ride itself was just about 7 hours or so, but it was
still fairly ok."
The Maitree
Express about to leave Dhaka Cantonment for
Calcutta. Photo courtesy of Sujan
Bhattacharjee
The Maitree
Express swaps a Bangladeshi engine for an Indian
one at the border.
Photo courtesy of Sujan Bhattacharjee
Calcutta
▶ Dhaka by
bus...
Direct air-conditioned
long-distance buses link Calcutta with Dhaka several
times daily, taking 8 or 9 hours. The bus fare
costs about $10-$12 one-way. No known websites.
Travel insurance...
Get travel insurance, it's essential...
Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable
insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover
cancellation and loss of cash (up to a limit) and belongings.
An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself). Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
Columbus Direct or
Go Travel Insurance, or go to
Confused.com to run a price comparison on a whole range of
travel insurance providers for your dates of travel, seeing
their policy's features at a glance..
Get a spare credit card, designed for foreign travel with no currency
exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...
It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.
If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're
not left stranded if
your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself. In addition,
some credit cards are significantly better for
overseas travel than others. Martin Lewis's
www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which
UK credit cards
have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something
overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when
you use an ATM abroad. Taking this advice
can save you quite a lot on each trip compared to using your
normal high-street bank credit card! You can save money on ATM charges and exchange rates using a
Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or indeed the
multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card,
find out about these cards & sign up here.
Get an international SIM card...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're
not careful you can return home to find some huge bills
waiting for you. I've known people run up a £1,000 bill
in data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a
simple trip to Europe. However, if you
buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company
such as
www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and
limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid. It
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries. It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills
when you get home. It also works for laptop or PDA data
access. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.
Overland travel by train & bus
around Bangladesh is an essential part of the experience,
so once there, don't cheat and fly, stay on the ground!
But a long-haul flight might be unavoidable to reach
Bangladesh in
the first place. For flights to
Dhaka, start with
www.e-bookers.com. Seat61 gets a small commission through this link.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
If
you're resident in
Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try
If you're resident in the USA or Canada, try
