With Independence Day (March 26) approaching, Bangladesh Railway has announced a comprehensive special train schedule and travel advisory to accommodate the expected surge in passenger traffic during the long holiday weekend. The government has declared March 25-27 as public holidays, and millions of people are expected to travel from Dhaka and other major cities to their home districts. Bangladesh Railway is prepared to run 12 additional special trains across major corridors to supplement regular services.
Special trains will operate on the Dhaka-Chittagong corridor (4 additional services), Dhaka-Sylhet corridor (3 additional services), Dhaka-Rajshahi corridor (2 additional services), Dhaka-Khulna corridor (2 additional services), and Dhaka-Mymensingh corridor (1 additional service). These special trains will feature Shovan Chair and Shovan class seating to maximize passenger capacity. Departure times for the special services have been staggered between 6:00 AM and 11:00 PM to distribute passenger flow throughout the day. The detailed timetable is available on the Bangladesh Railway website and at all major station inquiry counters.
Bangladesh Railway strongly advises passengers to purchase tickets in advance through the e-ticket portal at eticket.railway.gov.bd, as counter queues are expected to be extremely long during this period. Advance ticket sales for Independence Day special trains opened on March 5. Passengers should arrive at stations at least 45 minutes before departure during the holiday period. Additional security personnel and railway police will be deployed at all major stations. Regular intercity trains will continue to operate on their normal schedules, though some minor timing adjustments may occur on March 25-27 to accommodate the special services.