A new pair of trains named “Ovijatri Commuter” started operating on the Dhaka-Gopalganj-Dhaka route via the Padma Bridge from Monday, aimed at building an efficient commuter network between the capital and its neighbouring districts.

Railway Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam inaugurated the service at Dhaka Railway Station (Kamalapur) on Monday afternoon.

The minister said the new service was launched within 180 days of his taking charge, despite constraints in passenger coaches and locomotives, through efficient resource management aimed at both building a commuter network around Dhaka and expanding intercity rail services.

He expressed hope that the train would allow office-goers, students, businesspeople and general commuters from Gopalganj and the areas along the route to travel to Dhaka daily at low cost and reliably, and return to their localities after office hours.

This, he said, would help discourage the tendency of permanent migration to the capital and ease the existing pressure on Dhaka’s housing, traffic and urban services.

Rabiul also said the service would create an opportunity to transport vegetables, agricultural produce, fish and other locally grown goods from Gopalganj and its surrounding areas to Dhaka’s markets quickly and at comparatively lower cost, which would make the local economy more dynamic and benefit both producers and consumers.

According to railway officials, train no. 135 Ovijatri Commuter leaves Dhaka at 3:30pm for Gopalganj, arriving there at 6:45pm, while train no. 136 will leave Gopalganj at 7:15pm and reach Dhaka at 10:25pm.

The train has eight coaches with a total of 630 seats. On the 148-kilometre Dhaka-Gopalganj route, it will make stops at seven stations – Keraniganj, Srinagar, Mawa, Bhanga Junction, Nagarkanda, Maheshpur and Kashiani Junction. The service will remain off every Saturday.