Last week, I went on a quick trip to three western districts. First Khulna, then Rajshahi, and finally Kushtia. The entire journey was by broad-gauge train. So, this seems like a good opportunity to write a bit about trains and railways.
Two Englishmen, Richard Trevithick and George Stephenson, were pioneers in the invention of the locomotive or steam engine, In 1804, Richard Trevithick built the world’s first successful steam locomotive. Later, in 1825, George Stephenson developed “Locomotion No. 1” for the world’s first public railway. Another of his famous engines was the “Rocket.”
At that time, India was the largest and most valuable colony of the British, a proverbial "milch cow". Formal railway travel there began on 16 April 1853. The first passenger train in India ran 34 kilometers from Bori Bunder in Bombay (now Mumbai) to Thane.
In what is now Bangladesh, the first railway line was introduced by the Eastern Bengal Railway Company. On 15 November 1862, a 53-kilometer line was opened from Darshana (Chuadanga) to Jagati (Kushtia). Gradually, the railway network expanded to other parts of the country.
There was a time when railway engines ran on steam produced by burning coal, huffing and puffing down the track. Those engines are no longer in use. Diesel has replaced coal.
Sometimes getting on or off train carriages can be a hazard. Many people slip and fall under the wheels, leading to serious injury or even death.
In our country, railway station platforms were not passenger-friendly. One had to climb steep metal steps holding onto the carriage handle.
Recently, there has been some change. Platforms have been raised, so now one can simply enter the carriage straight through the door, even with a wheelchair. Still, many stations remain unchanged. Even in the capital’s Kamalapur, a new platform has been built for the railway line heading toward the Padma Bridge. I fail to understand why this platform was not elevated.
Kushtia Court Station lies within the town. Its platform also remains as low as before. Children, women and the elderly find it a struggle while boarding or alighting the train. I noticed several banners at the station reading: “We demand implementation of the Kushtia Court Station platform elevation project.”
We have a reputation for building one mega project after another, often with borrowed money. The leaders under whose tenure these projects are undertaken are elevated to almost divine status. We give them all the credit. We say that development would be impossible without them. Small, low-budget improvements do not catch their attention. Or perhaps the place lacks political or commercial importance. Is Kushtia such a place? This town and its surrounding areas are associated with several figures we can take pride in, such as Lalon Shah, Kangal Harinath, Gagan Harkara, Rabindranath Tagore and Mir Mosharraf Hossain.
Rabindranath’s Kuthibari in Shilaidaha and Lalon’s shrine in Cheuriya are essentially cultural pilgrimage sites. Yet they seem to be falling into crude and clumsy hands. The structures built around them lack both planning and aesthetic sense, concrete boxes resembling warehouses. If instead there were only greenery, flower gardens, and open spaces, one might find a sense of transcendental peace there. The problem is, the minds of the authorities are always filled with brick, stone, rods, cement, and sand. There are instances where even bamboo has been used instead of steel rods.
Beside Lalon’s shrine, an unwieldy auditorium has been constructed. Within a stone’s throw of the Kuthibari, a guesthouse has been built. In the adjacent open area, a stage has sprung up for music and speeches. None of this was necessary. One wonders what ''fertile'' mind produces such absurd ideas.
The road transport lobby in the country is very powerful and does not allow the railway system to become profitable. There are also demands to acquire vast amounts of agricultural land to build airports in various districts.
Of course, we may not have to tolerate these for long. As a certain group of zealots continues demolishing shrines one after another in the name of religious doctrine, it is uncertain how long Lalon’s shrine will survive. And Rabindranath? Who knows when he will be branded as an agent or a collaborator of tyranny, and his beloved Kuthibari reduced to rubble? Not long ago, we saw a rehearsal of such tendencies in Dhaka.
I stayed in Khulna for two nights. One evening, I went to see the Rupsa River. It is a port area, with many cargo ships anchored nearby. Along the riverbank, people sat on plastic chairs and stools, some locals, others visitors. Most come here for chotpoti and fuchka. However, the place is not tourist-friendly at all. I nearly broke my bones slipping while trying to descend from the road to the riverbank. Yet, if a simple walkway were built along the slope with some open space, it could become a wonderful evening spot.
In Rajshahi, the groyne known as “T-Bandh” along the Padma River, built by the Water Development Board, can be considered the city’s lungs. Residents flock there in the evenings for fresh air. Vendors there sell chotpoti, fuchka, and ice cream. Something similar could be done along the Rupsa.
Rajshahi is truly a beautiful city. Compared to any other district town in Bangladesh, its distinctiveness stands out. One can tell that those who managed the city had a sense of aesthetics. It is not just about spending money, taste matters.
Returning to rail travel, this was my first journey across the Padma Bridge by train. I also crossed the Hardinge Bridge for the first time. It was a remarkable experience. I keep thinking about the Hardinge Bridge. This 1,800-meter-long bridge was completed in 1915, taking six years to build. Even after more than a century, it remains intact. It can truly be called an engineering monument.
There was a time when trains ran from Kolkata to Siliguri and Assam via the Hardinge Bridge. After the Indo-Pak war of 1965, this route was closed. India then constructed the Farakka Barrage across the Padma. It is not just a dam, it is a four-in-one structure. It carries both a road and a railway line, generates hydroelectric power, and includes a system to divert water from the Padma into the Bhagirathi. This has had negative consequences for Bangladesh: we receive less water in the dry season and more during the monsoon. We often refer to the Farakka Barrage as a “death trap.”
The idea of such a structure dates back to the British era, when it was considered necessary to maintain the navigability of the Kolkata port. At that time, there was no India-Pakistan divide. The context was entirely different. After Hardinge Bridge became inaccessible to India, the construction of the barrage became immediately important for them. This is what one might call cutting off one’s nose to spite another.
Be that as it may, the Padma Bridge, Hardinge Bridge, and Jamuna Bridge have effectively turned Bangladesh into a more unified country. It was not quite so before. There were notions of East Bengal, North Bengal, and South Bengal, if not in geography, then certainly in mindset. These bridges have tied us together. Now, we can travel from one end of the country to the other in much less time.
I recently traveled from Dhaka to Khulna, Rajshahi, and Kushtia, all by train. It was the most comfortable rail journey I have experienced so far. If the entire country could be covered by broad-gauge rail, it would spark a true revolution in train travel. However, there is a challenge: the road transport lobby in the country is very powerful and does not allow the railway system to become profitable. There are also demands to acquire vast amounts of agricultural land to build airports in various districts. Yet, if the railway system were improved, the demand for domestic flights would decrease significantly.
We inherited most of our railway network from the British. What we now need are more locomotives, more coaches, increased train frequency, and better passenger services. Investment in this sector is essential for the public good.
* Mohiuddin Ahmad is a writer and researcher
* The views expressed here are the author’s own.