Staff Correspondent

Bangladesh Railway have agreed to suspend rail operations between Tejgaon and Kamalapur stations during the capital's peak travel hours in a bid to reduce the city's traffic jams.

The move follows a recent request from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police to the railway authorities for assistance in mitigating the huge tailbacks that have become such a feature of life in the capital city.

Dhaka police say many of the city's roads are too frequently blocked for trains arriving at or leaving Kamalapur Railway Station.

According to Bangladesh Railway's proposal, no train will travel between Kamalapur and Tejgaon stations from 8.30am to 9.30am.

Train movements between the two stations would also be suspended in the late afternoon from 4.30pm to 6.00pm under the proposed changes.

"We already have a proposal from the general manager's office calling for a suspension of trains between the two stations in the rush hours," Qazi Asad Uallah, Bangladesh Railway's additional director general of operation, told bdnews24.com Sunday.

"We have no objection to stopping train services during the morning and afternoon rush hours," he said. The railway official, however, said he would propose that the two commuter trains plying between Dhaka and Tongi remained operational during peak hours.

He said representatives from Bangladesh Railway are to meet home ministry officials on March 30 to decide when the rescheduled timetables are to come into effect. According to the proposals, 11 trains will be rescheduled.