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Train travel in Bangladesh...
|
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 |
InterCity * |
|
Days: |
daily |
daily |
not Sunday |
not Friday |
Daily |
daily |
|
Dhaka depart: |
07:40 |
08:00 |
15:15 |
16:30 |
22:30 |
23:00 |
|
Chittagong arrive: |
14:35 |
19:10 |
22:20 |
22:35 |
07:35 |
06:50 |
InterCity =
Fast quality train, fully air-conditioned, restaurant
car, recommended. AC class seats, 1st & 2nd
class seats.
InterCity * =
TURNA EXPRESS. Fast quality train, with
air-conditioned 2-berth sleepers, AC & 1st class seats.
Recommended.
Express =
Slower than InterCity trains. Air-conditioned
class seats, 1st & 2nd class seats.
Mail =
CHITTAGONG MAIL / Dhaka MAIL. AC class 2-berth
sleepers, 1st class 4-berth sleepers, 1st, 2nd, 3rd
class seats.
not Sunday =
daily except Sundays; not Friday = daily except
Fridays.
Chittagong
► Dhaka
|
|
Train number: |
701 |
721 |
3 |
703 |
1 |
741 |
|
Notes: |
InterCity |
InterCity |
Express |
InterCity |
Mail |
InterCity * |
|
Days: |
not Friday |
not Sunday |
daily |
daily |
daily |
daily |
|
Chittagong depart: |
07:00 |
07:15 |
10:30 |
15:00 |
22:30 |
23:00 |
|
Dhaka arrive: |
12:50 |
14:15 |
21:05 |
21:35 |
07:35 |
06:00 |
Fares:
|
|
Dhaka - Chittagong one-way fares per person, in Taka...
|
|
AC class sleeper (2-berth) |
AC class seat |
1st class sleeper
(4-berth) |
1st class seat |
2nd class seat |
|
660 (£6 or $10) |
430 (£4 or $7) |
455 (£4 or, $8) |
290 (£3 or $5) |
150 (£1 or, $2) |
Children under
3 travel free, children aged 3 to 9 half fare.
Children 10 and over pay the adult fare.
You can check
fares at
www.railway.gov.bd.
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.
Can you
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..!
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Calcutta
▶ Dhaka by
direct train (starting 14 April 2008)...
A new train service
started on 14 April 2008 between Calcutta (Kolkata) and Dhaka.
Called the 'Maitree (Friendship) Express', it will be
run for half the year by the Indian Railways, and the
other half of the year by Bangladeshi Railways.
The distance via the somewhat round-about route is 538 km (120km in India, 418km in
Bangladesh), and it's routed via the border point at Gede/Darshana. Train services from Calcutta to Dhaka were
suspended following the India/Pakistan war in 1965 and
this is a major step forward.
Calcutta ► Dhaka
|
|
Dhaka ►Calcutta
|
|
"Maitree
Express" |
Sats & Suns
only |
"Maitree Express" |
Sats & Suns
only |
|
Calcutta (Chitpur
station) depart |
07:10 |
Dhaka
(Cantonment station) depart |
08:30 |
|
via
Gede / Darshana |
??:?? |
via Darshana / Gede |
??:?? |
|
Dhaka
(Cantonment station) arrive |
20:30 |
Calcutta (Chitpur station) arrive |
21:00 |
Fares:
|
|
Non-AC seat |
AC seat |
Sleeper |
|
$8 |
$12 |
$20 |
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, non-AC
seats have opening windows. Sleepers are in
compartments with berths for lying down and more room
(yes, even though it's daytime train!).
Photos of the Maitree express showing seats car interior.
How to
buy tickets: Tickets go on sale 10 days before
departure, 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. Passports & visas must be shown when
booking. Only one-way tickets can be booked.
Eastbound,
customs and immigration take place at Darshana just
inside the Bangladeshi border. Westbound,
immigration controls take place at Dhaka Cantonment
station.
Feedback would be very
welcome!
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.
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.
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Thomas
Cook Overseas Timetable
|
It's probably
the most adventurous timetable ever produced... The famous Thomas Cook
Overseas Timetable has train, bus and ferry time for all of Australia,
New Zealand, Asia, America and Africa. It is published every two
months. No serious overland traveller should be without it..!
It costs around £13.50 from the bureau de
change in any branch of Thomas Cook, or it can be ordered by phone on
01733 416477 (+44 1733 416477 from outside the UK).
Buy online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com
(look for 'Timetables').
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Get an
online quote
from both Direct Line & Columbus Direct... |
Travel insurance is a boring subject, but it's a real necessity, so make sure you
budget for it. Make sure the cover is adequate -
for example, at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover,
from a reliable insurer. Remember that an annual
multi-trip policy is often cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just two or three trips
a year. Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy after clicking these
links.
If you're a UK resident, try
Direct Line whom I've used myself on many occasions, or
Columbus Direct.
If
you're resident in
Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try
Columbus Direct Australia.
 
If you're resident in the USA or Canada, try
Travel Guard USA.
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