The first consignment of 18 broad gauge (BG) passenger carriages out of 200 arrived at Darshana International Railway Station in Chuadanga from India on Friday afternoon.
The carriage-laden rake reached the station at 2:40pm, marking a major step toward enhancing passenger service quality and capacity in Bangladesh Railway's Western Zone.
Supplied by India's RITES Limited under a procurement project and manufactured at the Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala, Punjab, the consignment departed for Bangladesh on October 12.
The 18 coaches include two AC sleepers, three AC chair coaches, 11 non-AC chair coaches, and two power cars.
Bangladesh Railway officials, including Pakshi Divisional Mechanical Engineer (DME) Mohammad Rabiul Islam and Darshana Station Manager Mamunur Rashid, received the coaches alongside a three-member RITES delegation led by Traffic Inspector Subhajit Ghosh.
DME Rabiul Islam said that initial observations showed smooth movement without unusual noise, expressing optimism about the build quality.
Following primary clearance at Darshana, the coaches will be sent to the Saidpur Railway Workshop for deprocessing, commissioning, and trial runs before being integrated into the fleet, station manager Mamunur Rashid added.