But only one of the three proposed inter-city trains will reportedly be running on the new railway linking the eastern and western parts of the country that railway officials said would help accelerate economic development of the northern region.

The old inter-city Padma Express that ran between Rajshahi and the eastern side of the JMB has been renamed 'Silk City Express' to make the maiden trip.

Jamat Khan, convenor of Rajshahi Protection Movement Council (RPMC) alleged that the decision to run just a single train was influenced by some Rajshahi-Dhaka coach owners including a top BNP leader.

"Introduction of the three trains will put bus owners under 'heavy competition' with the railway," he explained.

The RPMC has been demonstrating in Rajshahi town over the last week against the decision to introduce only one train instead of three. It has threatened a greater movement if the two other trains are not introduced by this month.

AKM Rezaul Karim, director general (DG) of Bangladesh Railway (BR), however refuted the allegations. Talking to The Daily Star, he said introduction of two other trains on the route as proposed earlier has been delayed due to lack of 'modern traffic signalling system'.

At least three more trains would be launched on the route after completion of the under-construction 'modern' system in December, he added.

However, a traffic engineer of the Western Railway preferring anonymity said that at least two trains could easily have been launched under the existing system by making an interval crossing of the two trains at Jamtoli Station in Sirajganj.

Nurul Haque, owner of Rajshahi-Dhaka coach Mahi Enterprise, said the 'passenger-crisis' bus owners are already facing due to an increase in the number of buses and new routes would intensify after the train service is launched.

Meanwhile, construction of the 281-km railway line between Rajshahi and Joydevpur linking the West Zone of Bangladesh Railway with its East Zone through BJMB has already been completed under the Jamuna Bridge Rail Link Project at a cost of Tk 1,744.43 crore.

The government provided Tk 1,032.55 crore for the project while Asian Development Bank, OPEC, France and Spain gave Tk 711.88 crore.