Passenger train via Padma Bridge starts regular operation today
Regular operation of passenger trains through the Padma Bridge is set to start from today, Wednesday. This will establish a new rail connection between the capital and the south and south-western part of the country.
The Sundarban Intercity Express will leave for Dhaka from the Khulna railway station at 9:45 pm Wednesday. According to the rail schedule, the train will cross the Padma Bridge at around 4:00 in the morning and will reach Dhaka at 5:10 am Thursday.
The train will leave for Khulna from Dhaka at 8:15 pm tomorrow and is scheduled to reach Khulna at 4:00 pm. The Benapole express will also operate on this route.
The railway authority said the Sundarban Express has nine stoppages on its way from Dhaka to Khulna, including Bhanga in Faridpur, Faridpur town, Rajbari, Poradaha in Kushtia, Chuadanga and Jashore. The Benapole express will follow the same route, but it will take the route towards Benapole from Jashore railway station.
A project is underway to construct railway tracks on either side of the Padma Bridge. The rail service from Dhaka to Bhanga was launched under this project. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the railway service on this route on 10 October last. However, train movement on this route on a commercial basis is going to start from today.
The construction works of railway track from Bhanga to Jashore via Gopalganj and Narail is in the final stage. It is scheduled to be launched by June next year. The passengers will not have to cross the Rajbari district to go to Khulna after that. It will reduce the distance between the capital and the south and south-western part of the country.
The Padma Bridge was inaugurated on 25 June. Vehicles are plying on the upper deck of the two-storey bridge. The railway track lies in the lower deck of the bridge. A separate project named ‘Padma Bridge Rail Link Project’ was taken up to establish a rail link between the two sides of the river.
According to railway sources, the government approved the ‘Padma Bridge Rail Link Project’ in 2016. The cost of the project was estimated at Tk 349.88 billion, which has increased to Tk 392.46 billion now. The project is being financed by China. A Chinese contracting company is implementing the project.
A 169-km railway track is being constructed from Dhaka-Jashore under this project. Lately, the Keraniganj upazila and Munshiganj area in Dhaka, Shariatpur and Madaripur were included in the new rail network. Narail will also be added to this rail network after the project is completed.
Launching before time, manpower crisis
According to the contract signed, the rail service between Dhaka and Bhanga was supposed to be launched in April next year. The service was launched six months before the scheduled time.
The work on installing rail tracks from Bhanga to Jashore is going on in full swing. The authority has set a target to finish it by June next year.
However, sources in Bangladesh Railway say they don’t have the necessary manpower for this new railway network. Therefore, trains won’t be operated at full capacity.
According to the project survey, a total of 24 pairs of passenger and freight trains can be operated on the new rail tracks. Some 40,000 passengers will be able to use this railway network every day. Besides, it will directly connect the capital with the Mongla port. The India-bound international trains will take much less time compared to the time it is taking now. However, an additional human resource of 1,674 people is needed for that. The government is yet to approve this.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Afjal Hossain, director of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project said so far around 85 per cent of the work has been done. They are hopeful about launching rail services on the entire newly constructed railway network by June next year.
The passengers cross a distance of 412 kilometres to reach Khulna from Dhaka by train via Tangail and the Bangabandhu Bridge. The new railway network will reduce that distance by 212 kilometres and will save four to five hours.
Train fares reduced
The railway authorities fixed the train fare for the new rail tracks at the beginning of the month. However, the fare fixed by the authority sparked criticism as the amount exceeded the existing bus fares. Later, the railway authority reduced the train fare.
The fare from Dhaka to Bhanga for non-AC coaches has been reduced to Tk 235 from Tk 350.
There are seven categories of train tickets. Fare has been reduced for every category. Now the fare for the shovon chair has been fixed at Tk 195. The fare for first class seats is Tk 310, for first class berth Tk 365, for AC chair Tk 465 and the fare for AC berth category has been fixed at 695 Tk.
The fare for shovon chair category from Dhaka to Jashore was fixed at Tk 565, which has been reduced to Tk 455 and the fare for shovon chair category from Dhaka to Khulna has been reduced to Tk 500 from Tk 615.
*This report appeared on the print and online versions of the Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu