Bangladesh’s railway system needs an ambitious modernisation program to upgrade the network and provide faster and more efficient services.
Current programs to buy new coaches and improve track are woefully insufficient to make up for the decades of under-investment that have left the country’s railways lagging far behind their potential. Despite having a wide ranging network, the country’s railways are badly under-utilised, inefficient, and slow.
Even when BR adds 50% to its capacity during Eid and special festivals, the network only transports around a quarter of a million passengers a day. This is a drop in the ocean for the needs of our population and pitifully far behind the nearly 2,500 services and over 7 million passengers carried daily by the Mumbai suburban railway.
The government needs to speed up plans to develop a new circular route around Dhaka and to develop a new express train service between Chittagong and Dhaka.
A feasibility study carried out for the railway ministry by the China Railway Engineering Group highlights tremendous scope to hugely reduce journey times between the country’s two largest cities by laying new tracks and bringing in electrification. The report indicates that only 3,000 acres of extra land will need to be acquired to enable 10 trains to operate simultaneously at speeds of 200km/h.
This is the type of project Bangladesh needs to fast track. Around 90% of Bangladesh’s export-import goods are currently transported on the existing Dhaka-Chittagong highway. Improving infrastructure and adding both rail and road capacity is imperative to bring the increases in journey times and efficiency which the economy needs.
As a country with a small land area and high population density, Bangladesh has huge potential to benefit from investing in a more modern railway system. Upgrading the network is the most environmentally and economically sustainable way to move large numbers of people and goods around the nation.
Investing in the railway network is essential to boost the economy by speeding journey times for passengers and freight.
This could also help facilitate decentralisation and reduce pressure on Dhaka’s land area, by allowing more commuters to live outside of the capital.
Bangladesh’s railways need a long-term vision to bring them up to modern standards. Investing in the creation of an efficient integrated transport system is vital for the future of the economy.
