Railway station constructed at exorbitant cost

The railway has built a station in Kaliakair of Gazipur at a cost of nearly Tk 580 million with an expectation that more than 10,000 passengers would travel daily between the Gazipur industrial area, Dhaka, and northern Bengal.

But on average, only 47 passengers have used the station daily in the past three years.

The total annual expenses for this station, including salaries for the staff and maintenance costs, exceed Tk 3 million, while the average annual income is only about Tk 9,25,000, according to railway sources.

This station, equipped with modern facilities, was inaugurated in 2018 beside the Kaliakair Hi-Tech Park. Six years after its opening, it is found that only two trains stop here: the Tangail Commuter and the Sirajganj Express. In contrast, 40 trains operate on the route from Dhaka to Tangail and northern Bengal, but they do not stop at this station due to a lack of passengers.

Railway sources said passenger services did not improve during the 15 years of the Awami League government. Necessary engines and coaches have not been purchased, and there is a shortage of manpower. Yet, during this period, significant investments have been made in constructing and repairing new railway lines and station buildings, many of which are not being utilized.

Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, speaking to Prothom Alo on Friday, said that there has been no foresight in project implementation over the past 15 years, and that irregularities are pervasive. He assured that the current government will not undertake projects in such an unplanned manner and that past irregularities will be investigated.

Railway data indicates that out of 484 stations across the country, 116 have been closed during the past government’s tenure. Meanwhile, 146 new station buildings have been constructed, mostly funded by foreign investments. Additionally, 237 station buildings have been repaired and upgraded during this period.

Preferring not to be named, a railway official said that while the previous government emphasized the construction of station buildings and railway lines, there was little interest in purchasing engines and coaches, as that process is time-consuming and offers less commission than construction projects, which attracted more interest from railway ministers, officials, and contractors.

According to railway calculation, the Kaliakair station currently has nine staff members, including a stationmaster and ticket sellers. Their monthly salaries and allowances exceed Tk 200,000. There is a cost for maintenance costs for electricity and water. The total annual expenses stand at over Tk 3 million.

However, the income generated is minimal. In the 2022-23 fiscal year, the station earned only Tk 1.07 million. For the fiscal year 2021-22, the earnings were Tk 1.18 million, and in 2020-21, it was just Tk 525,000. The annual income on an average is Tk 9,25,000.

Railway sources said the project for the construction of this station centered around the Kaliakair Hi-Tech Park was initiated in 2015, with its design modeled after the Kamalapur Railway Station in the capital.

The construction of an iconic station in Cox’s Bazar, a beach town, was inaugurated last November for the first time. A total of nine new stations have been built along the route from Dohazari in Chattogram to Cox’s Bazar, with the iconic six-storey, seashell-shaped station near Cox’s Bazar costing Tk 2.15 billion.

Spanning 29 acres and 187,000 square feet, it is equipped with a five-star hotel, shopping mall, restaurant, childcare center, and luggage lockers. This air-conditioned station can accommodate 46,000 people and also includes a post office, convention center, information center, ATM booths, and prayer spaces.

According to railway sources, the total cost for constructing 100 kilometers of railway line and nine stations along this route amounted to Tk 154.76 billion.

Preferring not to be named, a railway official said that while an iconic station was deemed necessary in a coastal town, the costs were excessive.

Currently, three pairs of trains operate on this route, with two pairs not stopping at any intermediate stations, while one local train stops at four stations in between. Despite the massive investment in the iconic station, the other stations are not fully utilized.

Another example of high expenditure on station construction is the Bhanga Railway Station in Faridpur, built at a cost of Tk 1.5 billion.

This station is part of the Padma Bridge railway link project, which has a total budget exceeding Tk 390 billion, including the construction of a 169-kilometer railway line from Dhaka through the Padma Bridge to Jashore and 14 new stations.

Railway sources said that the new Bhanga station is located five kilometers from the Bhanga junction and 12 kilometers from the Shibchar station in Madaripur. The old junction has been repaired and expanded under the project. There are no notable towns or landmarks between these two stations. The Bhanga station was built in the middle of a field at a high cost. There are multiple platforms and the station is three story building. Initially, there were no plans to construct a station at such a high cost.

According to railway sources, the inclusion of this massive station was influenced by the then-chief whip of parliament, Noor-e-Alam Chowdhury (Liton Chowdhury), and his brother, former MP for Bhanga, Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury (Nixon Chowdhury), who are related to the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. After the government’s fall, both of them went into hiding, and their comments could not be obtained.

An official, who preferred not to be named, said that Liton Chowdhury and Nixon Chowdhury pressured the authorities to build this station under the pretext of establishing an Olympic Village and an international airport in Madaripur.

The Rooppur Railway Station in Ishwardi, Pabna, was constructed at a cost of Tk 3.36 billion for transporting materials for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project, and a 26-kilometer railway line was built. The line was inaugurated in February last year, but no trains have begun operations yet, and the railway authorities do not know when trains will run at this station.

Railway sources said that a new line has been installed in the Akhaura-Laksham section of the Dhaka-Chattogram railway route with funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Thirteen stations, including Maynamati, Lalmai, and Alishwar in Comilla, were modernized under this project, but no trains have stopped at these stations since their opening in 2018.

Another line has been constructed in the Laksham-Chinki Astana section of the Dhaka-Chittagong railway with funding from Japan's international organization JICA. Stations in Nauti, Sharshadi, Kalidah, and Mohuriganj in Comilla were modernised under the project, but trains do not stop at these stations either.

Additionally, at least four new stations along the new railway line from Faridpur to Gopalganj also do not have train services. These are located in Gopalganj's Tungipara, Borashi, Chandradighalia, Kashiani's Choto-Bahirbag, and Chapta, which opened in 2018.

In 2022, a project was initiated for the “Bengali Year Celebration” at a cost of nearly Tk 2 billion, aimed at repairing 55 stations and raising platform heights. This also included the repair of 50 coaches and some railway lines.

Railway sources said that the modernized Chattogram and Khulna stations were also repaired under this project. The Chattogram station had been modernized at a cost of Tk 2.15 billion, while the Khulna and Benapole stations were modernized for Tk 850 million under one project.

Although trains do not stop at Bangladesh Agricultural University in Mymensingh and the Joshodolpur station in Kishoreganj, both stations were modernized under the Mujib Year project.

Railway officials said that the project during the Mujib Year was initiated at the interest of the then railway minister Nurul Islam Sujan. Many of these projects were unnecessary, and the quality of work was poor.
Lack of focus on service

During the past 15 and a half years of the Awami League government, over Tk 710 billion was spent on major projects for railway lines, stations, and infrastructure. However, due to a lack of necessary engines and coaches during this time, the number of trains could not be increased.

According to railway records, there are about two thousand passenger coaches, of which approximately 1,500 are usable. The rest remain in facilities for repair work. As a result, the same coach is used on multiple routes, making it difficult to run trains according to schedule. The railway has about 300 engines, with 180 of them being over 20 years old, which are considered out of date.

Professor at the Civil Engineering Department at BUET Md Hadiuzzaman said that the main goal of building large stations was to give the projects a 'mega' status. The primary goal of the railway is passenger service, which is currently nonexistent. Local trains are being discontinued due to a lack of engines and coaches, and trains are being forced to run on different lines. Therefore, without a comprehensive approach, the construction of station buildings and new railway lines is nothing but waste.

*This article, originally published in Prothom Alo print and online editions, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam