61% work of Bangabandhu Railway Bridge completed

Almost 61% construction work of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge over the Jamuna River is completed so far.  

Those involved in the project said that 49 spans will sit on the 50 pillars of the Bangabandhu Railway Bridge. The work of 31 pillars has already been completed and 15 spans installed.

At present, the superstructure of the 16th span is in progress. Apart from this, the welding work of various levels of the remaining 19 pillars is going on.  

The project is scheduled to be completed by August 2024.

Dhaka Tribune

According to authorities, currently 38 trains are plying through Jamuna Bridge. After the completion of the dual gauge double track bridge, 88 trains will run over it. It will run at a speed of 100-120km per hour.

A total of 30.73km railway line including 0.05km viaduct, 7.67km railway approach embankment and loops and sidings will be constructed on both sides of the 4.80km parallel dual-gauge double track of Bangabandhu Bridge. The total allocation of this mega project is about Tk16,780.96 crore out of which Tk6,498 crores have been spent.

Local residents express joy and hope of development in the area due to the construction of the bridge.

Dhaka Tribune

In this regard, Tangail-2 (Bhuapur-Gopalpur) constituency Member of Parliament Tanbir Hasan Chhota Monir said: “Economic zone is a dream project of Tangail residents. Work is underway to become an economic zone on the north east side of this railway bridge. There will be jobs for millions of people here. If this railway bridge is constructed, it will be easy to transport goods from any place, especially the northern region.”

He also said that the quality of passenger services will increase through the railway bridge and business will also expand rapidly. At one time, the people of the Jamuna bank were living in hardship. Today, because of the Bangabandhu Bridge, the prosperity of this area has returned. 

In this context, Project Director Al Fattah Md Masudur Rahman said that the work of the railway bridge is going on at a fast pace. About 1,000 local and foreign workers worked day and night to build the railway bridge. Already 61% of the railway bridge work has been completed. 

The country's first mega project – Bangabandhu Bridge over the Jamuna – was built in the 90s. 

The Bangabandhu rail bridge project over the Jamuna is being constructed 300 metres upstream of the highway bridge with a length of 4.8km.

A total of 49 spans will be installed on 50 pillars.

The construction of the bridge started in August 2020.