Cox's Bazar: 120 Kilometres of Beach, Now Reachable by Train

Cox's Bazar runs 120 km along the Bay of Bengal — Asia's longest natural sea beach. A new 101 km rail line from Dhaka has changed who can reach it.

Cox's Bazar, 120 kilometres of beach on the Bay of Bengal. Photo: Md Faysal Ahmed, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

By the UISC BD Editorial Desk · United Information Service Center · Published 9 September 2026 · 6-minute read

Cox's Bazar runs for 120 kilometres along the Bay of Bengal in south-eastern Bangladesh, an almost unbroken stretch of sand backed by hills. It is the country's most visited destination by a wide margin.

A note on the claim usually attached to it: Cox's Bazar is very often described as the world's longest natural sea beach. The more carefully sourced description is that it is Asia's longest natural sea beach and among the longest in the world — reference sources place it fifth globally. The distinction does not diminish it. A hundred and twenty kilometres of continuous beach is extraordinary by any measure, and the accurate version is impressive enough not to need embellishment.

The Change That Actually Mattered

For most of its history, Cox's Bazar was awkward to reach. The options were a long road journey from Dhaka or a domestic flight — the first exhausting, the second beyond most household budgets.

That changed in December 2023, with the completion of the 101-kilometre Dohazari–Cox's Bazar rail line. Bangladesh Railway now runs two direct intercity services from Dhaka's Kamalapur Station:

Cox's Bazar Express (813/814)
Parjatak Express (815/816)

The journey takes roughly 8.5 hours, stopping only at Dhaka Airport Station and Chittagong.

Rail changes tourism differently from roads. It is affordable, it runs to a timetable regardless of traffic, and it moves large numbers of people at once — which means access to the coast is no longer effectively rationed by income. A family that could never justify flights can justify train tickets.

What Has Been Built Since

Investment followed the rail line, as it usually does. International hotel chains have opened properties in Cox's Bazar, bringing infrastructure aimed at international visitors alongside the domestic market that has always sustained the town.

The town connects naturally to the rest of Bangladesh's tourism offer — the Sundarbans to the west, the Chittagong Hill Tracts inland, and the archaeological sites of the north. What the country has lacked is not attractions but the transport and accommodation to convert them into an industry.

The Pressure That Comes With Success

Improved access creates its own problem, and it would be dishonest to write a tourism piece without naming it. During winter and long holidays Cox's Bazar becomes extremely crowded, with the strain on water supply, waste management and the beach itself that mass domestic tourism brings.

Coastal development also sits directly in the path of the climate risks discussed in our coverage of Bangladesh's adaptation planning — cyclone exposure, erosion and sea level rise all apply with particular force to hotels built close to the waterline. Sustainable tourism practices are being adopted, but the honest position is that the infrastructure has so far grown faster than the management of its consequences.

Why Tourism Is a Development Question

For Bangladesh, tourism is one of the few sectors that earns foreign currency while distributing income geographically — to a coastal district rather than to Dhaka. It employs at a range of skill levels, and unlike garment manufacturing it cannot be relocated to a lower-wage country.

The beach was always there. What was missing was the ability to reach it, and that has now been built.

Sources

"Cox's Bazar Beach," Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org
"Cox's Bazar guide: world's longest natural sea beach," Kupi — kupi.com
"World longest beach, Cox's Bazar, a must-visit place in Bangladesh," Viet Nam News — vietnamnews.vn

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