The Bangladesh Railway yesterday ran the test run on the 82-kilometre Dhaka-Bhanga rail line via the Padma bridge.

The train -- which was carrying Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan, some other lawmakers, government's senior officials, dignitaries and journalists -- left Dhaka's Kamalapur Railway Station at around 10:12 am.

It reached the Munshiganj Mawa Station, which is located at the edge of Padma bridge, at 11:20 am, said Ahmed Jamiul Islam, the project manager of Padma Bridge Rail Link. At around 12:20 pm, the train reached Bhanga Railway Junction in Faridpur, said officials concerned.

The train, which consists of six coaches with locomotive, went slower than its normal speed as it was a trial run, Islam told The Daily Star.

Once commercial operation starts, trains on this route will operate at a speed from 100 to 120 kilometres per hour, he added.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the Bhanga-Dhaka rail route through the Padma bridge on October 10, according to Sujan.

Commercial operation of trains will begin within a few days of the inauguration, he told journalists after getting off the special train in Faridpur.

"A long-cherished dream of the people of this area has come true today," he added.

A 172-km railway line from Dhaka to Jashore via Padma bridge is being constructed under the Padma bridge rail link project. But the entire route is yet to be constructed, according to railway officials.

About 80 percent of the Dhaka to Mawa rail route, 96.5 percent of the Mawa to Bhanga rail route and about 78 percent of the Bhanga to Jashore rail route have been completed, Sujan told The Daily Star.

The project will be completed by June next year, he added.

Sujan took the same trial train back to Dhaka in the afternoon.

After commencement of commercial operations, passengers will be able to get on and get off at Dhaka's Kamalapur and Gendaria stations; Munshiganj's Nimtola and Mawa stations; Shariatpur's Padma station; Madaripur's Shibchar station and Faridpur's Bhanga station, said railway officials.

Earlier, BR ran a trial train from the Bhanga to Mawa end of the Padma bridge on April 4 after the completion of the stoneless railway line on the Padma bridge.

On October 14 last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the construction work of the rail link between Dhaka and Jessore.

[Our Correspondent from Munshiganj and Faridpur contributed to the report]