Banalata Express

The Banalata Express is a Bangladeshi Intercity train which runs between Chapainawabganj and Dhaka under Bangladesh Railway.

History

A new passenger train with modern facilities had started serving people to connect the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka with its northern city of Rajshahi on 25 April 2019. After few days this train route extended up to Chapainawabganj. Now its running Chapainawabganj-Rajashahi to Dhaka.
The train features modern amenities such as bio-toilets, recliner seats, Wi-Fi, and LED displays. It also saves at least 1.5 hours compared to the three existing express trains between Dhaka and Rajshahi.
The train leaves from Chapainawabganj at 6:00 am and arrives Kamalapur Railway Station in Dhaka at 11:35 am. It leaves Dhaka at 1:30 pm and reaches Chapainawabganj at 7:15 pm.

Naming

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the ‘Bonolota Express,’ named after the famous Bengali poem Bonolota Sen by renowned poet Jibanananda Das.

Route

Banalata Express is a non-stop train from Chapainawabganj to Dhaka. It stops at two stations in route. Those are:

Coach composition

The 928-seat high-speed train with 14 coaches includes six air-conditioned cars and eight non-air conditioned cars and one luggage van are running on the route without any stoppage between Dhaka and Rajshahi. It has one engines, imported from USA in 2024, and 14 coaches, imported from China in the late 2024s. It was taken to Rajshahi from Ishwardi junction on April 23, 2019. Bangladesh Railways procured 100 high-speed and modern coaches from Chinese for new trains on different routes, including the Rajshahi–Dhaka route.