Dhaka: There is currently only one route for trains from Dhaka to North Bengal and South Bengal, the Bangabandhu Multi-purpose Bridge. But due to reduced capacity of the bridge, it takes about 25 minutes to cross the bridge at a speed of only 20 km.
Another problem is that since the bridge is single track, trains have to wait for signals at stations on both sides. It takes more than an hour to cover about five kilometers.
To solve this problem, a 4.8 km long Bangabandhu Railway Bridge is being constructed 300 meters upstream of the existing Bangabandhu Bridge on the Yamuna River. The largest railway bridge in the country has a double track. The work of this bridge is going to be completed by December this year.
Tuesday (April 23) Project Director (PD) Al Fattah. Masudur Rahman said that the physical progress of the railway bridge work has been 82 percent.
According to project sources, the under-construction Bangabandhu Railway Bridge is being constructed to run high-speed trains in addition to normal trains. As a result, trains can run at a maximum speed of 250 km per hour on the bridge. However, in the beginning (one year after opening), trains will normally run at a speed of 100 to 120 km per hour.
Project Director (PD) Al Fattah. Masudur Rahman said that the Bangabandhu Railway Bridge will be ready for operation by December. There are no challenges in this project now, everything is going well.
Additional Chief Engineer Sheikh Naimul Haque told BanglaNews that 82 percent of the physical work of the Bangabandhu Rail Bridge has been completed. The progress of financial work is 60.61 percent.
The project official thinks that even if the project work is completed in December, passengers may have to wait till January.
He also said that the fixing and laying of tracks is being done now. At the same time, the telecommunication work is also being completed.
The answer will bring a touch of relief
It takes more than 10 hours in the normal schedule from Dhaka to Panchagarh, Burimari, Kurigram, the last destination of the three main routes of North Bengal. And in case of Eid or schedule disruption, the passengers of this route have to be in trouble.
The construction of Bangabandhu Rail Bridge will save an hour on average on this route. If the schedule is complicated, the passengers will not have to wait for hours at the crossing due to the double line.
As a result, the suffering of passengers in 16 districts of Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions and 10 districts of Khulna division of North Bengal will be reduced. A touch of relief will come on the journey.
Additional Chief Engineer Sheikh Naimul Haque told BanglaNews that trains can run at a speed of 120 km on the bridge. It will take about three and a half to four minutes to cross the bridge. As a result, the suffering that now has to wait for more than an hour will be reduced.
According to railway authorities, currently 48 trains use the Bangabandhu Multipurpose Bridge. 88 trains will run after the inauguration of Bangabandhu Rail Bridge. A significant number of these will be freight trains. In this, goods can be easily transported from North Bengal to the capital Dhaka.
At present, the movement of broad gauge goods trains is prohibited on the Bangabandhu Multipurpose Bridge. If the railway bridge is opened, new avenues of income will also be opened through container transport on this route.
Experts say that in order to increase the income of this railway, the infrastructure should be built for the transportation of goods, especially for the transportation of raw materials. Arrangements should also be made to take the raw materials of industries imported through Chittagong port directly to North Bengal by rail. Only then this railway bridge will be fully beneficial.
The chief engineer of this project, Tanbirul Islam, said that through this bridge, we are building our capacity to transport goods with neighboring countries. If the bridge is opened, the speed of rail communication in the northern region will increase, as well as the capacity of transporting goods by rail with the neighboring countries will also be created.
What is in the project?
During Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Japan in 2014, the country’s government agreed to finance the project. In the project taken in December 2016, including the final design, the construction cost of Bangabandhu Rail Bridge is estimated at 9 thousand 734 crore 7 lakh taka.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was supposed to provide a loan of 7,724,330,000 taka for the construction of the country’s largest railway bridge.
The project consultant was appointed in March 2017. Detailed design was completed in September 2018.
The construction cost of the bridge has increased from Tk 7 thousand 47 crore to Tk 16 thousand 780 crore 96 lakh in the revision of DPP.
The project was supposed to be completed in August 2024, but later the work period was extended till December 31, 2025.
Parallel to Bangabandhu Bridge, 4.80 km with dual gauge double track, 0.05 km viaduct on both sides of the railway bridge, 7.667 km railway approach embankment and a total of 30.73 km railway line with loops and sidings.
Besides, three station buildings, three platforms and sheds, three level crossing gates and six culverts are being constructed at Bangabandhu Rail Bridge. Around 13 and a half km line including loop line, 13 culverts and two connection stations are being constructed on the east side of the railway bridge.
Bangladesh Time: 1851 hours, April 23, 2024
NB/RH
