Passengers suffer at Narsingdi Railway Station, which is plagued by various problems

Narsingdi is an important station among the eastern stations of Bangladesh Railway. Passengers suffer and have various problems at this station. Problems such as infrastructural weakness, lack of cleanliness, security crisis, restrooms, public toilets, passenger shelters and difficulties in obtaining tickets are seen at the station. In addition, incidents such as illegal hawkers and drug users consuming drugs and vagrants roaming freely around the station also occur. Which is a threat to ordinary passengers.

It is known that Narsingdi Railway Station was originally established by the Assam Bengal Railway Company during the construction of the Tongi-Bhairab-Akhaura railway line in 1910-1914. In 1970, it was a junction station. The railway was connected to Madanganj in Narayanganj. Later in 1977, the railway authorities completely closed the railway line. Later, the Eastern Railway authorities renamed it Narsingdi Station, leaving the name Narsingdi Junction Station aside. A tour of the site shows that currently, a total of 16 trains, including 7 mails and 9 intercity trains, stop at this station at different times in 24 hours. Thousands of passengers travel to different destinations in the country every day on these trains.

There are 2 platforms to get on and off so many passengers. Although there are a few fans and chairs above the head for passengers waiting for the train on platform 1, it is much less than necessary. In addition, there is a small restroom for passengers, but it is unusable. Although there are 3 ticket counters for passengers to buy tickets, 1 is open and the other 2 are closed. There are numerous floating shops and hawkers scattered on the platforms. As a result, platform 2 has become a haven for drug addicts, vagrants and beggars. As a result, passengers are insecure. A passenger who commutes to Dhaka every day for work, on condition of anonymity, said, "Every morning I travel to Dhaka by train. Drug addicts, vagrants, beggars and hawkers have occupied the area around the station and the platform. As the day goes by, their number is increasing. Slowly, the entire station is being taken over by them. As a result, passengers are insecure. He also said, there are a lot of passengers at this station. Only 1 out of 3 ticket counters is open. Passengers cannot even buy tickets on time. Sometimes, it is seen that the train comes while they are standing in line. Later, tickets are not bought anymore. A female passenger waiting for the train told Banglabazar correspondent, "I have been standing with my elderly mother for a long hour. There is no seating arrangement anywhere. The passenger shelter is very small compared to the platform. When it rains, you have to get on the train wet. Passengers often suffer due to the poor condition of the station building and platform, lack of adequate restrooms and toilets, and lack of proper signaling for the arrival of trains. He also said that the authorities do not have any of the necessary facilities at this station to improve the quality of passenger service. Station Master Mohammad Abdul Mannan admitted the complaint and said that there is a shortage of manpower at the ticket counter and sweepers.

In addition, operations are being conducted constantly to evict hawkers and floating vagrants. Especially since the station is in the middle of the city, the influx of outsiders is increasing. Still, I am trying to control it as part of my responsibility. He further said that senior railway officials have already visited Narsingdi Railway Station. We have requested for the expansion of platform no. 2 and passenger shelter of the station, as well as the increase in manpower. Hopefully, the railway authorities will fulfill it in a few days. Despite the influx of passengers at the station, the office of the Railway Security Force was locked at that time. Therefore, it was not possible to take their statement.