As Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr approach, Bangladesh's railway system is facing an unprecedented capacity crisis. Railway operators are concerned that this imbalance in capacity could lead to logistics chaos ahead of the peak season (April, coinciding with this year’s Eid al-Fitr).

During Eid, railway operators will prioritize passenger services, which may result in freight operations being suspended for up to a week. It is predicted that by the end of April, the inland container terminal in Chittagong will have a backlog of up to 3,000 standard containers of import cargo. Currently, the terminal’s warehouse is already far beyond its maximum capacity. On Monday, 1,287 TEUs of goods were sent to Dhaka, while the warehouse’s maximum capacity is only 876 TEUs.

Fayyaz Khundker, Chairman of the Bangladesh Container Shipping Association (BCSA), warned that unless immediate measures are taken, catastrophic situations could arise in the coming months. He pointed out that just 6-7 months ago, containers from Chittagong to Dhaka were backed up for 60 days.

Bangladesh Railway is currently operating only one train per day, but due to ongoing shortages in vehicles and manpower, this capacity is far from sufficient to meet demand. To clear the current backlog, operators need to increase the number of trains by four times, or Chittagong and Dhaka will face massive logistics bottlenecks.

The BCSA plans to urge the railway and the Chittagong Port Authority to take immediate action to alleviate the current capacity crisis. At the same time, Montasir Rubayat, Director of the Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association, also noted that due to reduced working hours across the country during Ramadan, the backlog situation in April is expected to persist for some time. He emphasized that the railway needs to develop a response plan and add more trains to ensure fast container turnover.

Industry experts warn that if no action is taken, Bangladesh’s railway system will face an "uncontrollable" situation in the coming weeks.

Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, as major festivals in Bangladesh, have a significant impact on the logistics industry. Railway companies, port authorities, and relevant industry associations must collaborate closely to address this challenge and ensure smooth logistics during the holiday period.