The railway link between Dhaka and Bhanga is a dream come true, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said yesterday.

The 82km line via the Padma Bridge is expected to significantly boost rail connectivity with the southwest.

"This country is ours; [we] attained independence in exchange for blood. Bangladesh will march forward and stand with heads high in the world arena cherishing the ideology of the Father of the Nation," said Hasina while addressing a rally in Mawa after inaugurating the rail line.

The premier unveiled the inaugural plaque of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project before joining the rally. She went to Mawa by car.

Echoing the words of her father, she said, "No one can hold back the Bangalees."

"We will build a smart nation, smart economy, smart government, and smart society. It is our goal."

She reaffirmed her vow to make the upcoming national election free, fair, neutral, and truly reflective of the people's will, reports UNB and BSS.

She slammed those who talk about toppling her government. The BNP-Jamaat-led 20-party alliance got only 29 seats out of 300 in the 2008 election and since then, they have been staying away from polls, she said, adding, "They don't want neutral elections."

She alleged that they were playing with elections, killing people, and resorting to murders and arson. Hasina urged all not to allow anyone to play ducks and drakes with the fate of the nation.

After the rally, the premier and her sister Sheikh Rehana bought tickets for themselves and other members of her family from two ticket counters at the Mawa station.

They waved the green flag and blew the whistle on the platform at 12:59pm and boarded a 14-carriage special train.

Her family members, dignitaries, and 50 other people from different professions travelled with her.

Hasina was seen looking outside the window when the train was crossing the Padma Bridge. She also talked to her fellow passengers.

At 1:55pm, the train arrived at the Bhanga Railway Station where AL central and Faridpur district unit leaders and government officials welcomed her.

She then inaugurated the Dr Kazi Abu Yusuf Stadium and joined the rally organised by Faridpur AL there.

Thousands of people were waiting there since morning to welcome the PM and listen to her.

"I'm today giving you a gift, the Padma Bridge rail link after the Padma Bridge… I urge you all to vote for boat [electoral symbol of AL] so that the Awami League can serve the people again."

She also asked people to vote for AL to save the country from BNP-Jamaat.

Hasina promised the people of Faridpur a university there if voted to power.

Terming the BNP a party of "looters", the AL chief said the top leaders of the BNP had been engaged in embezzling the money of orphans, money laundering, and trading arms. One of them left the country signing a bond that he would not engage in politics.

And Jamaat was involved in war crimes, she added.

The PM said she knows that the people are with her but many intellectuals are not.

"If the people of Bangladesh stay beside me, any impossible can be made possible, which we've proven through the construction of the Padma Bridge and inauguration of the rail connectivity via the Padma Bridge."

After the rally, Hasina and her family members travelled to her ancestral home in Tungipara and offered Fateha at the mausoleum of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

She is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka this afternoon.