Passengers wait at the Kamlapur Railway Station in Dhaka on January 28, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Train services in Bangladesh resumed on Wednesday (January 29, 2025) after railway workers ended their indefinite strike, which had brought the country’s rail network to a halt.

The strike, which began on Tuesday (January 28, 2025), caused significant disruptions for commuters and businesses.

“Train services across the country have returned to normal as Bangladesh Railway running staff have withdrawn their strike,” a Railway Ministry spokesman said.

Strike hits 400 train services

The strike affected around 400 passenger trains, including more than 100 inter-city services, as well as over 30 freight trains. Thousands of passengers were left stranded, and many had to find alternative forms of transport, which led to higher fares due to the surge in demand for road transport.

The workers, including drivers, ticket checkers, and guards, had walked off the job to protest a government decision that removed pension benefits for extra hours worked.

“We have been assured by the government that the benefits we received earlier will remain in place,” Union leader Mujibur Rahman told reporters.

Due to a shortage of staff, many railway employees have long worked beyond their scheduled hours, traditionally receiving additional pay and pension benefits in return. However, a controversial decision in November 2021 removed these pension benefits, leading to growing concerns among workers about their financial security after retirement.

The main Kamlapur Railway Station in Dhaka (file picture) was mobbed by hundreds of disappointed passengers who were not aware of the strike.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Trains were canceled across Bangladesh on Tuesday (January 28, 2025) as railway staff went on strike for higher pensions and other benefits, affecting tens of thousands of passengers and freight transport.

Saidur Rahman, acting president of the Bangladesh Railway Running Staff and Workers Union, said the strike was called after a meeting with the interim government headed by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus failed to reach a deal late Monday.

Mr. Rahman said the strike would continue indefinitely if the government does not accept their demands.

The state-run railway system carries some 65 million passengers per year in the densely populated nation of 170 million people. It employs about 25,000 people and operates a network of over 36,000 km.

The main Kamlapur Railway Station in the capital, Dhaka, was mobbed by hundreds of disappointed passengers who were not aware of the strike. Many waited for hours before going home.

As the country’s railway adviser visited, passengers shouted complaints.

Shahadat Hossain, a station manager in Dhaka, said at least 10 trains were scheduled to leave the station on Tuesday morning. Authorities arranged buses as an alternative.

Mohammed Nadim was stranded at the Kamlapur Railway Station as he travelled hundreds of kilometers overnight to reach Dhaka for his vacation to the southern coastal district of Cox’s Bazar.

“I came here in at 5:30 a.m. from outside Dhaka. But after one hour or so, I came to know that my train will not run. Now I have been stranded here for hours without any hope. The station officials told me my ticket money will be reimbursed, but I don’t know when,” he told The Associated Press at the scene.

He refused to travel to his destination by a bus as arranged by the authorities as an alternative.

“It’s too far. I have come here to travel by train. I don’t want to travel this far by an air-conditioned bus even. Now they are offering me this bus that has no air-condition,” he said.

Dhaka-based Jamuna TV station reported that railway workers protested in Chattogram, the country’s second largest city. The southeastern city has the country’s largest seaport, and the massive garment industry relies on trains to bring goods to it for export. The industry earns about $38 billion a year from exports, mainly to the United States and the European Union.

Station vandalised

In the northwestern region of Rajshahi, angry passengers smashed furniture of a station and attacked a staff, according to Jamuna TV.

The Yunus-led interim government has been running the country since August, when former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India amid a student-led uprising and ended her 15-year rule. The interim administration is struggling to restore order amid reports by the global lending agencies such as the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank of slower economic growth.