The railway construction work on the 6.15km long Padma Bridge was completed by casting the last remaining seven meters of track on Wednesday afternoon.
Afzal Hossain, project director of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project, told reporters at Padma Bridge around 5:30pm.
He said: “We started the work on November 20, 2022. The target was to complete the railway construction work on the main bridge within four months.”
“After finishing of casting today (Wednesday), it will take two-three days for the cement to set. Then we will run some tests,” he added.
Brigadier Saeed Ahmed, project manager of the Mawa-Bhanga section of the Padma Bridge Rail Link project, said: “The railway minister has given us time on April 4, so on that day we will test the 41km railway from Bhanga to Mawa with tankers.”
“Although the design speed of this route is 120km/hr, experimental tests will be conducted at 30-40km/hr,” he added.
Through this project, a 212.05km short route between Dhaka-Jessore-Khulna will get improved operational facilities. It will establish another sub-route of the Trans-Asian Railway network in Bangladesh.
The Padma Bridge Railway Link Project will be completed in three phases.
According to the Ministry of Railways, the work of the 169km railway has been divided into three parts. The first part is from Gendaria in Dhaka to Mawa in Munshiganj. The second part is from Mawa to Faridpur via Padma bridge. The last part would be the section from Bhanga of Faridpur to Jessore.
When the railway from Dhaka to Bhanga is completed, communication between Dhaka, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Shariatpur and Faridpur will be easy, and an alternative route will be opened to Dhaka with the west. The distance between Dhaka and Khulna will be reduced by 212km if train movement is started through the Padma Bridge.
According to project sources, the Padma Bridge railway is being connected to the Asian Railway Network. The proposed route will connect India through the Petrapole border and join the border of Benapole-Jesore-Narail-Bhanga-Mawa-Hinarayanganj-Dhaka-Tongi-Akhaura-Chittagong-Dohajari-Myanmar border.
The government approved the construction of the 169km railway from Dhaka to Jessore in March 2016. It is listed as a fast-track project.
Earlier, the prime minister inaugurated the Padma Bridge on June 25, 2022.
