Railway’s huge potentials need to be tapped: Experts

AKM Moinuddin, UNB Staff Writer

Dhaka, Aug 19 (UNB) -- Despite Bangladesh’s Railway’s ‘poor services and erratic schedules’, trains are increasingly getting popular across the country as a relatively safe and cheaper alternative.

Passengers say they prefer train journey due to distressful and costlier bus services. “Above all, there is more risk in bus journey than in trains,” says SM Farhad Ullah, a Chittagong-bound train passenger, at Kamalapur Railway Station.

He said frequent road crashes and growing traffic jams on roads and highways have virtually shifted the passengers towards railway and people are desperately running after train tickets.

“We need a comprehensive national plan for the development of our train service. It needs massive investment,” Prof Dr Mahbub Ullah, former Chairman of Dhaka University’s Development Studies, told UNB correspondent AKM Moinuddin over phone on Thursday.

He said the country’s railway sector remained neglected for decades and it deserves due attention to tap its huge potentials.

“Unfortunately, there was no concrete step in the last 15 years. You see, India’s whole transport system is sustaining on its train service,” he said adding that a country cannot depend only on roads as fuel consumption is higher in road communication.

Mahbub Ullah said railway is less risky, but more environment-friendly. “We need expansion of rail links, increased number of passenger coaches, locomotives and goods wagons.”

He gave importance on carrying more and more goods by trains apart from passengers. “Railway can’t be profitable by carrying only passengers.” E

ngineer Ali Ashraf, a city planner, said no government after the country’s independence gave adequate attention to the railway sector, but this government has taken some initiatives that should be implemented properly.

Citing example of the port city of Chittagong, Ashraf said shuttle trains can easily be introduced in Chittagong by using the existing infrastructure and rail tracks which are being used for goods train.

“Time can be fixed for carrying goods as the volume is low. In daytime, commuter trains can be introduced through Patenga-Sholosahar-Kalurghat. Even it can be linked with other upazilas,” said Ashraf, also the President of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, Chittagong chapter.

Former Chief Engineer of Bangladesh Railway and its current General Manager (West) M Amjad Hossain, however, said there had been a lot of development works, including rail link expansion and rehabilitations, in recent years.

"A good number of projects have been approved, while a few more are under the process of implementation,” he said.

In this connection, he mentioned Dhaka-Padma Bridge- Bhanga 85-km rail link, Bhanga-Borishal 101 km rail link, Kashiani to Tungipara via Gopalganj and Dohazari-Cox’s Bazar routes.

A senior official of the Communication Ministry said the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved a Tk 1,852 crore project to construct a single track rail line from Dohazari in Chittagong to Ramu in Cox's Bazar to Gundhum in Myanmar on July 6, last year.

The project is expected to be completed in July 2014. In November last year, ECNEC approved development projects, including the Laksam-Chandpur section railway rehabilitation scheme aimed at ensuring safe and fast train communications. Under the project, some 55.01 kilometers of railway track (51.12km main line and 3.89 km of loop and side line) will be rehabilitated.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith in his recent budget speech said the government has started construction of about 326 km new broad-gauge line and 9 meter-gauge locomotives will be procured by 2011.

The present government has introduced seven new train services -- Turag Express on Narayanganj-Jaydevpur, Dhumkhetu Express on Rajshahi-Dhaka and Chattala Express on Dhaka-Chittagong routes.

In order to get connected with Trans-Asian Railway Network, initiatives have been taken to construct new railway track of about 128 from Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar via Ramu and from Ramu to Gundum.

On the other hand, around 53 km new tail lines from Khulna to Mongla port will be constructed to ensure greater utilization of Mongla seaport. Currently, the railway covers 2,855 km routes while roads and highways cover over 21,000km across the country, according to official statistics.
END/UNB/AKM/