Rail connectivity with South now a reality

Another step has been taken in establishing rail connectivity with the southern and western parts of the country by conducting the first trial run on an 82km rail track from Dhaka to Bhanga in Faridpur via the Padma Bridge.

A train consisting of seven coaches left Kamalapur Station at 10:07am and reached Bhanga Station at 12:18pm with a maximum speed of 60kmh.

"We have conducted a trial run of the train. The prime minister will inaugurate the rail line on 10 October," Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan said at a press briefing at Bhanga.

He said the project has a tenure up to June next year, but all of the remaining work in the section will be finished ahead of the inauguration.

When the train started its journey with a long whistle, there was excitement at Kamalapur station. Enthusiastic crowds were present on both sides of the railway line, including in Gendaria, Mawa, Shivchar, and Bhanga.

Locomaster Enamul Haque and Assistant Locomaster MA Hussain drove this train, while Anwar Hossain managed it as a guard.

Following the trial, the locomaster told TBS that the train ran at a maximum speed of 60km per hour on the 40km line from Mawa to Bhanga.

He also said that no major problems were found on the track during the trial run.

Officials said that the train had been runing at a speed of 20km per hour on the Dhaka-Gendaria section, and the speed increased to 40km per hour on the Gendaria-Keraniganj section.

The speed was 50km per hour up to Mawa from Keraniganj and increased to 60km from the Mawa station area.

Despite the design speed of the track being a maximum 120kmph, the train ran at a comparatively lower speed considering the first trial.

In early 2016, a project was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council to construct 215.2 kilometres of rail lines, including 169km of main lines and the remaining loop lines.

Exim Bank of China is giving Tk21,037 crore out of the estimated project cost of Tk39,247 crore.

Work on the 42km Mawa-Bhanga Junction-Bhanga section achieved 96.5% of progress, while the 40km Dhaka-Gendaria-Mawa section witnessed 80.5% of progress.

The 87km Bhanga Junction-Jashore section awaiting to be inaugurated in June next year achieved 78% of its progress.

There will be 20 stations from Dhaka to Jashore. Out of these, 14 new stations are being built, and the existing ones are being modernised.  

The railways minister said that starting from Kamalapur, the train will make stops at Gendaria, Nimtoli, and Mawa stations in the eastern part of the Padma Bridge, while Padma, Shibchar, and Bhanga stations are on the western part. More stations will come under operation in the future, he added.

The line will help direct the operation of some trains that are currently being operated through Jamuna Bangabandhu Bridge.

"After the inauguration of the Khulna-Mongla rail link project, the Padma rail connection will help to operate the Mongla port at its maximum capacity," he added.

He also said that the line will halve the distance from Khulna to Dhaka and Kolkata to Dhaka compared to the current operation.

"It will reduce the time and cost of transportation," the minister said, adding that the long-awaited Padma Bridge Rail Link project will help boost the income of the people in the southern and western districts.