BD court bans rooftop train travel

DHAKA: A Bangladesh court on Thursday banned people from travelling on train roofs -- a common sight in the country during peak holiday periods -- in an effort to prevent passenger deaths, a prosecutor said.

A bench of two High Court judges, Nazrul Islam Talukder and Khizir Hayat, passed the order as part of a clampdown on corruption in Bangladesh Railway (BR) -- the state-run rail monopoly.

People climb onto carriage roofs in the South Asian nation to avoid buying tickets -- or when demand soars during major Islamic festivals, when tens of millions of people return to their villages.