Bangladesh Railway’s Eastern Zone has increased train fares by introducing a ‘pontage charge’—an additional fee imposed for crossing certain bridges and infrastructure. Although the base ticket price remains unchanged, the new surcharge will raise fares by Tk 5 to Tk 226 across several routes. The revised fares will come into effect on December 20.

Railway officials explained that bridges longer than 100 metres will now be counted as 2.5 kilometres of travel distance, based on which the pontage charge has been calculated. The initiative was taken in May this year to boost revenue and manage rising expenses, and the final approval was given earlier this month.

The Eastern Zone covers Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet and Mymensingh divisions. Under the new structure, pontage charges are being applied on 11 bridges across six major routes: Dhaka–Chattogram, Dhaka–Cox’s Bazar, Dhaka–Sylhet, Chattogram–Sylhet, Chattogram–Jamalpur and Dhaka–Dewanganj.

Revised fares on the Dhaka–Sylhet route:

Mail: Tk 125 → Tk 140

Commuter: Tk 160 → Tk 170

Shovon Chair: +Tk 35 (new fare Tk 410)

Snigdha: Tk 719 → Tk 788

AC Seat: Tk 863 → Tk 943

AC Berth: Tk 1,338 → Tk 1,465

Revised fares on the Chattogram–Sylhet route:

Snigdha: Tk 857 → Tk 909

Shovon Chair: +Tk 25

First Berth: Tk 1,080 → Tk 1,137

AC Seat: Tk 1,030 → Tk 1,087

AC Berth: Tk 1,591 → Tk 1,678

Speaking to the media, Mahbubur Rahman, Chief Commercial Manager of the Eastern Zone, said the adjustment was made in line with government directives. “Not all routes are seeing fare increases, and even where fares have risen, the amount is not significant. The pontage charge has been introduced mainly to cover the maintenance costs of old, long bridge.