Bangladesh Railway has moved to lease out 11 mail and local trains operating under its Western Zone in an effort to reduce losses and increase revenue.
A proposal seeking approval to lease the trains has been sent to the railway headquarters. Railway officials say the initiative is aimed at turning loss-making services into profitable operations.
However, concerns have been raised that leasing the trains to private operators could result in higher fares for passengers.
Officials of the Western Railway said the trains have been incurring significant losses for years, contributing to a persistent revenue shortfall. The authorities hope that leasing the services to private operators will improve efficiency and revenue collection.
Private operators are currently contracted to manage internal train operations, ticket inspection, cleaning and passenger supervision.
The Western Railway currently operates six international trains, 62 intercity trains, 55 mail and commuter trains, and 12 local trains. Of these, 24 mail, commuter and local trains have already been leased to private operators, generating around Tk1.33 crore in monthly revenue.
Railway data shows the Western Zone has repeatedly fallen short of its revenue targets.
In the 2023–24 fiscal year, it generated around Tk649 crore against a target of Tk1,177 crore. In FY2024–25, revenue stood at Tk621 crore against a target of Tk1,160 crore. During the first 10 months of FY2025–26 (up to February), it earned Tk566 crore against a target of Tk825 crore.
Railway officials said around 10 to 12 trains operating on the Rajshahi-Dhaka, Dhaka-Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi-Khulna and Rajshahi-Parbatipur routes remain consistently profitable.
In contrast, most mail and local trains continue to incur losses because of low fares, high operating costs and widespread ticketless travel. Officials alleged that many passengers avoid buying tickets from counters and instead pay train staff directly.
Additional Chief Commercial Manager of the Western Railway Ansar Ali said leasing was financially more viable than recruiting additional staff.
"If we recruit more staff, the operating costs will exceed the revenue generated by these trains. Leasing is more profitable," he said.
He added that passengers' reluctance to purchase tickets was one of the main reasons behind low revenue from local trains.
Chief Commercial Manager Ahsan Ullah Bhuiyan said the initiative was intended to increase revenue while improving service quality.
"There has been a significant loss of revenue because the railway does not have sufficient manpower to properly check tickets on all mail and local trains," he said.
He added that the railway prepares consolidated income and expenditure accounts and does not maintain separate profit-and-loss statements for individual mail or local trains.
Western Railway General Manager Farid Ahmed said the proposal to lease the 11 trains is awaiting final approval from the railway headquarters.
"Once approval is received, the trains will be leased to private operators through the prescribed process," he said.
However, Ahmed Shafi Uddin, president of the Rajshahi district unit of Citizens for Good Governance (Shujan), questioned whether the move would benefit passengers.
"If the objective is only to create business opportunities for a handful of companies, then the initiative becomes questionable," he said.
He argued that if private operators can run the trains profitably while paying lease fees to the government, Bangladesh Railway should also be able to operate them efficiently.
"The government subsidizes essential services such as healthcare. Rail transport should be viewed in the same way. Instead of privatization, manpower shortages should be addressed through better personnel management, while weak governance and corruption within the railway system must also be tackled," he added.