TK 7902.02 cr  BR west zone

The West Zone of Bangladesh Railway (BR) has been implementing eight major projects involving around Taka 7902.02 crore aiming at improving the railway tracks and other infrastructures for bringing more other passengers and businessmen towards railway services.

Works on three of the projects were completed by spending around Taka 508.34 crore. Thereby, 95-kilometer Lalmonirhat-Burimari, 52-kilometer Syedpur-Chilahati and 85-kilometer Amnura-Rohanpur sections were rehabilitated besides renovating 80 bridges and 25 stations of the sections.

Mahbubul Haque Bakshi, Chief Engineer of the zone, told BSS here that the zone is implementing two big new rail line construction projects at an estimated cost of Taka 2537.36 crore.

The zone, covering Rajshahi, Rangpur and Khulna divisions, has been operating 141 trains including 50 intercity ones on different routes including the capital Dhaka at present. Eight commuters or shuttle trains are being operated on various short-distance routes which are very popular among the passengers.

In addition to construction of 141-kilometer new line, 85- kilometer existing rail line are being rehabilitated under the projects in Rajbari, Faridpur, Gopalganj, Natore and Pabna districts.

The projects are designed for the construction of 63-kilometer Kasiani-Gopalganj-Tungipara new line, rehabilitation of 85-kilometer Kalukhali-Bhatiapara line and construction of 78.4-kilometer new railway line from Ishwardi to Dhalerchar via Pabna.

55-kilometer mainline and eight-kilometer loop line are being constructed from Kasiani to Tungipara via Gopalganj at a cost of around Taka 745.78 crore while 80.25-kilometer mainline and five-kilometer loop-line is being rehabilitated by spending Taka 276.22 crore.

The project has been designed to construct 55 bridges including an important and four majors, seven stations, eight station-platforms, 12 approach roads and other requisite and relevant infrastructure like level crossing and modern signaling, he added.

The new railway line project has acquired 850 acres of land in Rajbari, Faridpur and Gopalganj districts by spending Taka 45 lakh.

In this regard, he said the scheme is likely to complete by 2016 which will establish railway connection between huge people coupled with the mausoleum of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Tungipara for the first time.

The new 78.80-kilometer mainline from Ishwardi to Dhalerchar via Pabna together with 10.87-kilometer loop line are being constructed at an estimated cost of around Taka 1436.02 crore in Natore and Pabna districts.

The project has been designed for construction of 11 stations and 117 bridges and 74 level crossings and the total land requirement for the project is 1,103 acres.

Meanwhile, the Indian side has converted the metre-gauge railway track into broad-gauge up to Radhikapur station on its internal route. For this reason, the import of goods from India remained suspended on Birol-Radhikapur section in Bangladesh side at present.

To overcome the crisis, the Bangladesh Railway has been implementing a Taka 1064.15 crore project for converting the existing Parbatipur-Panchagarh section into dual-gauge from meter-gauge and Parbatipur-Birol section into broad-gauge from meter-gauge.

"We have adopted a 65-kilometer new railway line construction alongside 145 bridges and eight stations from Khulna to Mongla port project at an estimated cost of around Taka 3,500 crore," said the chief engineer, adding that the scheme is likely to complete by 2018.

On successful implementation of the projects, the railway tracks and other infrastructures would be able to attract more passengers and businessmen towards railway services and that would contribute a lot to improving socio- economic condition of the country, Engineer Bakshi added.

Engineer Khairul Alam, general manager of the zone, told BSS that many of the non-functioning stations are expected to be re-functioned when the process of manpower recruiting process will complete within a shortest possible time.

We are committed to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective and time efficient rail transport service everywhere in the zone through modernizing, expanding and maintaining rail system in a manner which supports government strategies for economic, social and environmental development.