The Bangladesh Railway is scheduled to resume train services only on short distances from August 1, about two weeks after it had stopped the services.
From the day, the local, commuter and mail trains will be operated during when the curfew will be relaxed, said railways minister Md Zillul Hakim on Tuesday after chairing a meeting.
No decision was taken yet to operate the intercity trains on the long distances, he also said.
The meeting was held at the Rail Bhaban in the capital at the presence of the senior officials of the railways ministry, Bangladesh Railway and different law enforcement agencies.
According to sources, from Thursday commuter trains on Dhaka-Narayanganj, Dhaka-Gazipur and Dhaka-Tangail routes will run during the period of relaxation of the curfew.
Titas Commuter train on Dhaka-Brahmanbaria route and some other local trains on Rajshahi-Chapainawabganj, Lalmonirhat-Burimari and Dhaka-Rajbari routes are also scheduled to run from Thursday.聽
The student protests, seeking quota reform in government jobs, saw at least 213 people killed in clashes and in the aftermath between July 16 and July 28.
The official death toll reached 150 on Monday, said cabinet secretary Md Mahbub Hossain in an update given to the cabinet.聽聽聽
Amid the countrywide protests, the students blocked the rail tracks at Mohakhali in the capital in the early afternoon of July 18, leading to the shutdown of rail communication.
The railway authorities later suspended railway services across the country for an indefinite period for the safety of the passengers as they said that the rail tracks, stations, signals, level crossing gates, rail engines and compartments were damaged during the protest.
On July 24, railways ministry secretary Humayun Kabir told reporters that train services would resume on some short-distance routes from July 25. The railways, however, backtracked from the decision on the same night.
On Tuesday in the meeting, discussion was held to resume the services of intercity trains gradually with the situation becoming normal.
The Bangladesh Railway daily operates around 400 freight trains and passenger trains, carrying around 2.5 lakh passengers, across the country. 聽