Tk2,119cr railway project on cards for rehabilitation, maintenance of railway lines
Although 948 kilometres of new railway lines have been built over the past 15 years, the government has failed to allocate adequate funds to maintain half-century-old rail tracks in Bangladesh Railway’s western region
Highlights:
- Railways seeks Tk2,119 crore to rehabilitate western railway tracks
- Up to 15% rails deteriorated; sleepers broken; ballast severely lacking
- Half-century-old tracks underfunded despite major new rail construction
- Phase one covers 449km routes, 514km tracks
- Aging rails from 1930–1969 causing cracks, breakages, speed restrictions
- Low maintenance budgets heighten accident risks, threaten future operations
The Ministry of Railways has prepared a Detailed Project Proposal (DPP) worth Tk2,119 crore and sent it to the Planning Commission in the first phase to rehabilitate and maintain 449 kilometres of railway routes and 514 kilometres of tracks.
Although 948 kilometres of new railway lines have been built over the past 15 years, the government has failed to allocate adequate funds to maintain half-century-old rail tracks in Bangladesh Railway's western region. As a result, up to 15% of the rails in the region have deteriorated, with frequent incidents of cracks and rail breakages, while nearly one-third of the sleepers have broken.
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According to railway officials, around 25% to 30% of sleepers in western railway sections are broken or unusable, and the proportion is increasing. Almost all sections suffer from a severe shortage of ballast, making it impossible to maintain track balance, gauge and alignment – thereby heightening the risk of accidents.
The proposed project is aimed at addressing these issues.
Although there was an initial move to undertake projects to rehabilitate and maintain 1,931 kilometres of routes and 2,505 kilometres of tracks in the western region, the huge funding requirement led the Ministry of Railways to proceed in phases.
For now, a project proposal covering 449 kilometres of routes and 514 kilometres of tracks has been submitted to the Planning Commission, according to Ahmad Hossain Masum, Chief Engineer of Western Railway.
Under the proposed Tk2,119 crore project, rehabilitation and maintenance will be carried out on the Joydebpur–Ibrahimabad, Saydabad–Ishwardi Bypass, Bheramara–Ishwardi Bypass, Ishwardi–Saidpur, and Abdulpur–Rajshahi Court sections. The feasibility study has identified the project as "highly essential" and recommended track rehabilitation.
The project proposal notes that most sections were built with rails dating from 1930 to 1969, with wear rates rising to 12–15% and increasing further over time. This has led to frequent cracks, welding joint failures and rail breakages, posing a serious threat to safe train operations.
Railway officials said the Saidpur–Joydebpur section was rehabilitated with old rails in 2000–01, but excessive train movements beyond sectional capacity have significantly reduced the lifespan of rails, sleepers and fittings.
The chief engineer added that a DPP titled "Maintenance and Rehabilitation of Railway Tracks in Bangladesh Railway Western Region (Phase 1)" has been sent to the Planning Commission. The commission has already approved it for placement before the ECNEC, and once the Ministry of Finance clears staffing issues, it will be submitted for final approval.
Due to excessive passenger pressure in the western region, running more trains than capacity on weak tracks has made it difficult to maintain balance, gauge and alignment. As a result, trains are operating at restricted speeds in many places, reducing the quality of passenger and freight transport.
From 2009 to 2024, the Awami League government constructed eight new railway routes at a cost of Tk71,525 crore. Yet, while the western railway required an annual allocation of Tk150–300 crore for route and track rehabilitation, it consistently received Tk100 crore less than needed.
Chief Engineer Ahmad Hossain Masum told TBS on Wednesday that insufficient allocations in recent years for maintenance and rehabilitation have made the railway lines risky. Only Tk65 crore has been allocated for this sector in the current fiscal year.
Because of limited maintenance budgets, inadequate upkeep in recent years has led to increased wear of rails, unusable sleepers, ballast shortages, poor tamping and track imbalance. Railway officials warned that if the current situation persists, train operations through these sections will become increasingly difficult in the future.
Despite this, governments have no shortage of plans involving these northern and southern rail routes. Through the western railway network, there are plans for both passenger and freight transport with Indian Railways, as well as broader regional connectivity under initiatives such as the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR), SAARC network, Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Forum for Regional Cooperation, Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), and Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN).
Most railway lines in the western region are nearly a century old. Bangladesh Railway began its journey in 1862 with the construction of a 53.11-kilometre broad-gauge line from Darshana to Jagati. A metre-gauge line from Pakshi to Chilahati was built in 1874 and converted to broad gauge in 1924. The Pakshi–Sirajganj line was constructed in 1915.
The Santahar–Phulchhari Ghat section was built in 1899, and the Kaunia–Bonarpara section opened in 1905. In 2003, the Parbatipur–Jamtail broad-gauge line was converted to dual gauge, and a new dual-gauge line was laid from the eastern end of the Jamuna Bridge to Joydebpur.
