Ekota Express

Ekota Express

Overview
Service type	Inter-city named passenger train
Status	Operating
Current operator(s)	Bangladesh Railway
Route
Start	Kamalapur railway station
End	Bir Muktijoddha Sirajul Islam railway station
Distance travelled	593[1] or 639 km[2]
Train number(s)	705–706
Line(s) used	Narayanganj–Bahadurabad Ghat Jamtail–Joydebpur railway Chilahati–Parbatipur–Santahar–Darshana Parbatipur–Dinajpur–Panchagarh
Technical
Track gauge	Broad-gauge[3]

Ekota Express (Bengali: একতা এক্সপ্রেস) is a named inter-city passenger train of Bangladesh. It runs between Kamalapur railway station of Dhaka District and Bir Muktijoddha Sirajul Islam railway station of Panchagarh District.

Kamalapur

Tongi Jn

Joydebpur Jn

Bangabandhu Bridge East Jn

Jamtail Jn

Ishwardi Bypass

Abdulpur Jn

Santahar Jn

Parbatipur Jn

Bir Muktijoddha Sirajul Islam

Location of some major stations on Kamalapur–Bir Muktijoddha Sirajul Islam route

Rolling stock[]

On 2 September 2016, Ekota Express along with Drutojan Express were converted from meter-gauge to broad-gauge. Ekota Express has a load of 13/26 and can hold up to 1,200 passengers.^{[citation needed]}

On 16 December 2016, railway coaches of Ekota Express along with Drutojan Express were changed with newer ones imported from Indonesia.^[3]

On 11 November 2018, the route of Ekota and Drutojan Express were extended from Dhaka–Dinajpur to Dhaka–Panchagarh. As a result, the shuttle train service between Dinajpur and Panchagarh was closed.^[2]

Incidents and accidents[]

• 04/08/2005: The locomotive and a coach of Dhaka-bound Ekota Express derailed at the outer signal of Joydebpur Junction railway station of Gazipur District.^[4]
• 16/04/2008: Dhaka-bound Ekota Express collided with a local bus on a level crossing on the outskirts of Kalihati, Tangail District. 17 people died and at least 30 were injured.^[5]
• 13/04/2014: At about 3:20 am, a running Dhaka-bound Ekota Express collided head-on with a standing Lalmonirhat-bound Lalmoni Express at Ullapara railway station, Sirajganj District. Three coaches of Ekota Express and one coach of Lalmoni Express were mangled. A total of seven coaches veered off the tracks. At least 2 people died and 50 people were injured.^[6][7]
• 01/11/2019: Dinajpur-bound Ekota Express escaped from an accident from a broken railway track in Raninagar Upazila of Naogaon District.^[8]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ekota Express.