Dhaka Bureau: Three megarailway projects are being launched this year. The Ministry of Railways said that just as Dohazari to Coxabazar Seaside will be connected to the rail network, rail traffic over the Padma Bridge will also start by July this year. Similarly, another megaproject of the country, the construction of the railway from Khulna to Bukchide Mongla in the Sundarbans, is nearing completion. According to railroad sources, it will also be inaugurated in July this year.
If these three megarailway projects are launched, the railway map of the country will change, and the Bangladesh Railway will be included in the Trans-Asian railway route. The railroads think that a new horizon of travel and trade possibilities will be opened. They say that if the train starts from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar via Chittagong, new horizons will open for the sea-thirsty. The risk, cost, and time of traveling by bus or plane are smaller, saving a lot of trouble and money. The potential for tourism will also increase. Similarly, if railway traffic starts through Padma Bridge, the transportation of people and goods in the southern region will be much easier by rail, from Dhaka directly to Mawa, Banga to Jessore-Khulna. Again, the socio-economic condition of the people of the Mongla area of salt water bordering the Sundarbans after crossing the Rupsa Bridge from Khulna will change, as will the easy connection of the capital with Mongla Port. The port will be connected to Kolkata via Khulna, Jessore, and Benapole. So that people traveling to India for medical work will benefit as well as business and trade with India.
Meanwhile, the rail project from Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar via Ramu is progressing at a fast pace, said Project Director Mufizur Rahman. He told the media that the work on this project is going on in two lots, the first lot up to Dohajari-Ramu, where all the works are almost completed. I hope to complete the project work from Baki Ramu to Cox’s Bazar by June or July. He also said that the physical progress of the project is 88 percent and the financial progress is 75 percent.
Mufizur Rahman said that 2 out of 9 stations have been completed under the project. The work of the remaining seven is nearing completion. In addition, 65 kilometers of a 100-kilometer railway line have been completed; the remaining work is ongoing.Besides, the underpass for the movement of elephants and wild animals through the forest has been completed. It is about 15 km. Railway laying work is ongoing. Carlvats bridge work is also nearing completion. About 83 percent of the work on the iconic station under construction at Cox’s Bazar has also been completed.
According to Ministry of Railways sources, the time and cost of the 100-km railway construction project from Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar have been increased in several stages, and the total cost of the project is now Rs 18,000. The DPP for the railway construction project from Dohazari to Ramu to Cox’s Bazar and from Ramu to Ghumdhoom on the Myanmar border was approved by Ekne on July 6, 2010. In 2011, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated this megaproject, the dream of the people of Cox’s Bazar.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Padma Bridge on June 25, 2022. At the same time, the railway under the bridge is supposed to be opened, but due to various complications, the work has been delayed; currently, the railway ministry thinks that the train will run over the Padma bridge in July 2023. The progress of the 80 km railway from Dhaka to Bhanga across the Padma and the bridge over the Buriganga and Dhaleswari rivers is about 75 percent, of which the progress of the 42 km railway from Mawa to Bhanga over the bridge is 97 percent.
Afzal Hossain, director of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project, said that the work is going on vigorously for the railway from Dhaka to Banga. In this, the work of a 40-km railway line from Mawa to Bhanga is almost completed; the work of stations is in progress. Meanwhile, 6.7 km are on the bridge. The laying and welding of the rail line is complete. On April 4, railway minister Nurul Islam Sujan will visit the entire work of the project, including the railway, by traveling on an experimental train.
Again, the railway from Khulna to Mongla, which was passed by Ekne in 2010, can be launched in July, said the project director, Arifuzzaman. He said that the progress of this project is at 96 percent so far this month. Arifuzzaman told the media that the work on the Khulna-Mongla rail project has already been completed to 96 percent. The work on the Rupsa Rail Bridge is also nearing completion. And if not in June this year, the entire work will be completed by July. He said that the work of the 92-km-long railway construction project from Khulna to Mongla was passed to Ekne in 2010. It was supposed to be completed by December 2013. But due to delays in land acquisition, the Corona epidemic, soil filling in marshy land, etc., it is taking time to complete it. New problems arise in new areas. However, we are trying to advance the work as much as possible by confronting them.
In this regard, Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan told the media that we will inaugurate several megaprojects within this year. One of which is the Cox’s Bazar Rail Project from Dohazari to Ramu. Its work is nearing completion. After the completion of the project, travelers will be able to go directly to Cox’s Bazar from Dhaka. It will go up to Ghumdhum on the border of Myanmar, and in this regard, communication is going on with the government of that country. After the completion of the project, the passengers will reach Cox’s Bazar from Dhaka’s Kamalapur via Chittagong-Dohajari in a very short time. On the one hand, it will save the travelers money and time and also contribute to the socio-economic development of the concerned area.
He said that an iconic station is being built in Cox’s Bazar. Here, you can keep your belongings in the locker and walk safely on the beach. You can return to the capital again by night train. Besides, work is underway to inaugurate the railway from Dhaka to Bhanga via Mawa under the Padma Link Rail Project by July this year. Passengers can travel directly from the capital to Bhanga via the Padma Bridge. Three new districts will be added to the rail network. After that, in 2024, we will complete the project until Jessore. If this happens, Mongla port will also be directly connected to the capital via Jessore and Khulna via the rail network. As a result, the socio-economic conditions of the entire southern region will change.
And the railway from Khulna to Mongla will also be completed by July this year, said the railway minister. He thinks that if the railway is connected with the port of Mongla, the people of the entire Sundarban region will benefit from the transportation, and the trade and tourism systems will be developed directly from Mongla to Calcutta or India. The rail map will change. Bangladesh will join the Trans-Asian Railway.
