A journey by train from Sitakunda to Chittagong

A train approaching with its light during the dark.

If you do not have your reserved vehicle at the Sitakunda eco park then it is a bit cumbersome to find one. Usually most of them are already booked, or they would ask you to pay more. So we decided to avoid them and started walking towards the Sitakunda railway station. The walking was beside the typical village road having plenty of agricultural fields at both sides. Also the small hills were visible around. The road had plenty of trees at both sides as well.

The road was beside these typical Bangladeshi agricultural fields.

I can’t remember fully, maybe we’ve used the rickshaw for a while. Anyway, once we reached the station it was nearly sunset time. The next local train would be available in an hour. But we’ve waited for it. It was 10 Taka per person (second class). The ticket was like an old style one. I’ve seen this kind of ticket when I was a kid and traveling with my father. I used to collect those tickets that time (for nothing). So we were a bit excited when we saw the similar tickets after a long time. Didn’t realise that this kind of tickets are still functioning (as we see digitally printed tickets on paper).

Narrow road was not very busy and covered with plenty of trees.

When the train arrived at the platform it was completely dark. And being near the village it was even darker. There were plenty of other people were waiting for the train as well. The train was packed with lot of people. It was very difficult to move even an inch. We had to stand for an hour (or at least 40 minutes). It was even difficult for the ticket checkers to come and check the tickets as well.

At the Sitakunda train station.

I’ve done something after a long time. We tried to save some cost, and also wanted to see how the local train is doing these days. It definitely saved us a little money. But the journey was not that pleasant. I feel sorry for the local people who have to do the journey very frequently every day. They may have other options to pick, but that would cost them more and which they might not afford.