Govt taking steps to reduce losses of rail: Railway adviser

Railways Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan today (26 March) said the government is taking effective measures to make Bangladesh Railway economically viable through reducing losses and checking corruption.

"Bangladesh Railway is a losing institution. Tk2.5 is spent for every Taka one earned. There are two reasons behind this - corruption and wastage in the railways. We are taking effective measures to reduce this wastage and corruption," he said.

The adviser said this while inaugurating a new pair of commuter trains on the Dhaka-Narasingdi-Bhairab Bazar route and the replacement of the rakes (with upgraded coaches) of the Narayanganj Commuter Train plying on the Dhaka-Narayanganj route at Kamalapur Railway Station.

Fouzul Kabir said the price of railway services is very low. "Many people do not pay the fare by boarding the train. If this continues, the railway services will be stopped. If the losses increase, we will have no choice but to reduce the railway services," he added.

Regarding the locomotive crisis, the adviser said there is a shortage of railway locomotives and coaches. "We have to run trains with old coaches. We are trying to procure new coaches," he added.

Railways Secretary Md Fahimul Islam, Director General of Bangladesh Railways Mohammad Afzal Hossain, and other senior officials were present at the event.