BORDER BOTHER: The Maitree Express on its inaugural run from Calcutta. A Telegraph picture

The Calcutta-Dhaka train, launched with fanfare on April 14, has hit a flop stop. Railway officials said the Maitree Express is carrying 70 people on an average per trip.

Passengers blame the long wait for immigration and customs clearances at the two border stations, the weekend-only schedule and a shortage of ticket counters for the poor show.

The train from Calcutta ferried only 24 passengers on April 19 and eight the next day. On April 26 and 27, the passenger count was 71 and 49, respectively.

The Indian train can carry 370 people and the one from Bangladesh, 415 people. The trains run on Saturdays and Sundays — leaving Calcutta and Dhaka at 7.10am (IST) and 8.30am (BST), respectively.

Most passengers who have taken the train are irked by the five-hour wait for immigration and customs clearances at the border stations of Gede (India) and Darshana (Bangladesh).

“It was great fun when we took the train at Dhaka. But we became exhausted sitting at Darshana and Gede for hours. The authorities must do something about it,” said Mansur Sheikh, a businessman from Jessore, who had taken the inaugural run from Dhaka. “Moreover, the infrastructure at the stations are inadequate. There are very few chairs in the waiting area in Gede and no facilities for patients.”

Bangladeshi author and human rights activist Sharyar Kabir said the authorities should arrange for on-board immigration and customs checks.

Another major inconvenience for passengers is the weekend-only schedule. “For the return journey, one has to wait for at least six days, as the trains leave only on Saturdays and Sundays,” pointed out Bashir Sheikh, a businessman from Dhaka. He wanted to spend two days in Calcutta and return by train but was forced to take a flight.

Passengers are also demanding an increase in the number of booking counters for the Maitree Express in the city. Tickets for the train are now available only at the Eastern Railway headquarters at Fairlie Place.

“Dhaka has sought at least another counter at the Calcutta terminal, from where the train leaves,” said a railway official.

“The railway ministry has passed on passenger inputs to the home and external affairs ministries,” said a railway official.