Cox's Bazar Express
Coach derails after train collides with pickup van in Patiya
Cox's Bazar Express crashes with a pick-up van resulting in derailment of a coach at Patiya on Monday. Agamir Somoy.
A Dhaka-bound Cox's Bazar Express train collided with a pickup van that had driven onto the railway tracks in Patiya, Chattogram. The collision caused four wheels of one of the train's coaches to derail.
The accident occurred around 4:00 PM today (Monday) in the Chakrashala area of the upazila.
No casualties have been reported in the incident. However, due to the derailment, train operations on the Chattogram–Cox's Bazar route have come to a complete halt, leaving passengers of the Cox's Bazar Express stranded mid-journey.
According to railway authorities, the Cox's Bazar Express departed Cox's Bazar station for Dhaka at around 12:30 PM. As it reached the Chakrashala area in Patiya around 4:00 PM, it collided with a pickup van that got onto the tracks.
The Pahartali Control Room of Bangladesh Railway confirmed that train movement on the route has been suspended since the accident. Personnel from the railway's engineering department are working to righting the derailed coach. As of 6:00 PM, train operations had not returned to normal.
Chattogram Divisional Mechanical Engineer of Railway, Abdullah Al Masud, stated that the train's engine was damaged in the collision with the pickup van, and four wheels of a coach derailed. Work is underway to recover the coach and make the train fit for travel. If major faults are found in the engine, an alternative engine will be used to haul the train to Dhaka.
Railway officials noted that the regular train services on this route, the Saikat and Probal Express, were off today due to their weekly day off. However, the Tourist Express is scheduled to depart Cox's Bazar for Dhaka at 7:45 PM. If the rescue operations are not completed soon, the schedule of that train may also be affected.
