Flooded tracks halt Tourist Express in Chattogram amid record rainfall

A Cox's Bazar-bound Tourist Express train carrying more than 650 passengers was stranded in Chattogram on Tuesday after severe flooding submerged the railway tracks. 

The train came to a halt in the city's Sholashahar area around 12:40 pm, shortly after passing the local station. 

According to railway authorities, the train departed Dhaka’s Kamalapur station at 6:15 am and was scheduled to arrive in Cox's Bazar by 2:40 pm. 

Sholashahar Station Master Ariful Islam confirmed that the train was stopped due to rising floodwaters on the tracks in the area. 

The driver halted the locomotive after observing that the tracks ahead were completely submerged, opting not to risk proceeding. Authorities stated the train will resume its journey once the water recedes. 

The rail disruption occurred as Chattogram endures its heaviest rainfall in over four decades. 

The Meteorological Department recorded 412 millimeters of rain in the port city over a 24-hour period ending at 3 pm on Monday—the highest volume recorded since August 4, 1983, when 511 millimeters of rain fell. 

The unprecedented downpour, compounded by tidal surges, has submerged several areas of Chattogram, with floodwaters rendering at least three major roads impassable.