Bangladesh Railway

Rail transport in Bangladesh (the then India) began on 15 November 1862, when 53.11 km of 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) (broad gauge) line was opened between Darshana in Chuadanga District and Jogotee in Kushtia District. On 4 January 1885, a further 14.98 km 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) (metre gauge) line was opened. In 1891, the Bengal Assam Railway was constructed with the assistance of the government. It was later run by the Bengal Assam Railway Company.

On 1 July 1895, two sections of metre gauge railway were constructed by English railway companies. One connected Chhattogram and Comilla (149.89 km). The other connected Laksam Upazila and Chandpur (50.89 km).[6]

In 1947, at the time of the Partition of India, the Bengal Assam Railway was divided into two parts. The 2,603.92 km of track located in East Pakistan, came under the control of the central Government of Pakistan. On 1 February 1961, the Eastern Bengal Railway was renamed the "Pakistan Eastern Railway". In 1962, control of the Pakistan Eastern Railway was transferred to the Government of East Pakistan. On 9 June 1962, by order of the president, the Pakistan Eastern Railway management was assumed by a Railway Board.[6]

In 2005, the total length of the Bangladesh Railway was 2,855 km.[7] There was 660 km of broad gauge track (mostly in the western region), 1,830 km of metre gauge track (mostly in the central and eastern regions) and 365 km of dual gauge track.[8] In 1998, the Jamuna Bridge was built to connect the previously divided east and west rail networks in dual gauge.[9]

In 2010, funding was received for a bridge over the Titas River.[10] In September 2010, the Government of Bangladesh approved ten rail development projects costing 19·9 billion Bangladeshi taka including plans for new tracks and rolling stock.[11]

In 2011, Sheikh Hasina Wazed, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, officiated at the start of construction of a link which would cross several rivers to reach Cox's Bazar. The 100 km of gauge line started from the railhead at Dohazari, southeast of Chittagong. The plan was to reach Satkania, Dulahazra, Chakarin, Edgaon, Ramu and Cox's Bazar, with four major river bridges and a 28 km branch from Ramu to Gundum. In 2013, the Chhattogram Circular Railway was completed.

In 2015, construction of a 15 km branch to Agartala, Tripura in Northeast India commenced.[12] In 2017, land acquisition took place to facilitate the construction.[13]

From the end of the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 until 1982, the railway was governed by a Railway Board. It then came under the Railway Division of the Ministry of Communications. The Director General of the railway was the Secretary of the Railway Division of the Ministry of Communications. In 1995, governance of the railway was assumed by the "Bangladesh Railway Authority" which was chaired by the Minister of Railways.[14] Inspections are made by an external government authority.

The features of Bangladesh Railway include the usage of several gauges and the division of the rail system by the Jamuna River, Brahmaputra into the Western Zone and the Eastern Zone of operations. Crossing the river is one bridge, the Jamuna Bridge which was completed in 2003.

The East Zone and the West Zone each have a General Manager who answers to the Director General of the Railway Authority. Each zone has its own raft of departments for operation, maintenance, and finances. Each zone is divided into two divisions with departments for personnel, transportation, commercial, finance mechanical, way and works signalling, telecommunication, electrical and medical services.

The East Zone has a workshop division in Pahartali. The West Zone's workshop division is in Saidpur. The railway has a central locomotive workshop for broad and metre gauge locomotives in Parbatipur. It also has a Railway Training Academy.[14] There are diesel workshops in Pahartali, Dhaka and Parbatipur. Maintenance on coaches and wagons is carried out at the "C and W" shop in Saidpur, Nilphamari and at the "C and W" shop Pahartali.

Jamuna Express at Kamalapur railway station

Railway is a principal mode of transport in Bangladesh. In the 2005 financial year, 42 million passengers traveled on the Bangladesh Railway.[25] Bangladesh Railway started inter-city train service in 1985. As of 2017, 90 inter-city trains (up & down) are currently active.[26] About 35.5% of total passengers travel by inter-city trains and about 73.3% of Bangladesh Railway revenue come from inter-city train service.[27] In the same year, Bangladesh Railway also operated 52 mail or express trains, 64 commuter trains (DEMU) and 135 shuttle or local trains and 2 international services.[28]

Two times per week, a passenger train operates a service to India. In April 2008, the Maitree Express between Dhaka and Kolkata came into operation on the Gede – Darsana route.[29] On 9 November 2017, a new weekly train, the Bandhan Express, came into operation between Khulna and Kolkata via Petrapole and Benapole (172 km).[30]

As a national carrier, Bangladesh Railway is obliged to carry essential commodities such as grain and fertiliser to remote parts of Bangladesh at discounted rates. Bangladesh Railway transports containers from the Port of Chittagong to Dhaka Inland Container Depot, where there are customs facilities.[33] The rolling stock to carry containers was manufactured from existing stock. On 5 August 1991, a container-only train came into service. A goods train operates from Singhabad and Petrapole, India to Rohanpur and Benapole, Bangladesh.[34]

Kamalapur railway station is the central railway station of Bangladesh which is situated at Dhaka. In 2015, Bangladesh Railway serviced 489 railway stations. These include one block hut, thirteen train halts, and four goods booking points. The new timetable of Bangladesh Railway has changed 26 trains in the new year 2020 which became active from 10 January 2020.[35]

Benapole and Darshana of Bangladesh (the then East Pakistan) had rail communication with India till the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. After a long gap, on 14 April 2008, rail communication with India restored with the introduction of Maitree Express train.[36][29] This train connects Kolkata railway station of India with Dhaka Cantonment railway station of Bangladesh via Gede-Darsana route. On 9 November 2017, Bandhan Express train came into operation.[37] This train connects Kolkata railway station of India with Khulna railway station of Bangladesh via Petrapole-Benapole route (172 km).[37][30][38] Besides Maitree and Bandhan Express, various freight trains are in regular operation between Bangladesh and India.

As of 2020, Bangladesh has no railway communication with Myanmar. In 2010, a project of constructing a dual gauge single-track railway on Dohazari–Ramu–Gundum route to connect with Myanmar was made.[39] It will also connect Bangladesh with the Trans-Asian railway.[39][40]

According to an annual report of Bangladesh Railway, it is estimated that 72% railway accidents of Bangladesh were due to human error, 23% due to mechanical failure, and the remaining 5% due to unprotected level crossings, careless crossing of rail tracks by vehicle drivers and pedestrians. Human error includes error or negligence by the loco master, stationmaster and guard, reckless driving. Mechanical failure occurs due to the malfunctioning of locomotives, defective tracks and signal system.[41]

There occurred many major railway accidents in Bangladesh which caused a lot of casualties. An accident occurred 4 June 1972, when a crowded passenger train from Khulna District collided with a standing freight train at Jessore District. 76 people died and about 500 were injured.[42][43] Seven years later, another major accident occurred on 26 January 1979 when a train derailed and overturned near Chuadanga, resulted in 70 deaths and 300 injuries. On 15 January 1989, a north bound mail train collided head-on with a Chittagong bound express train at Gazipur District. Several cars rolled off an embankment into a rice paddy. Due to the Bishwa Ijtema religious festival at Tongi, there were over 2,000 people in total on both trains, many riding on roofs or between coaches. At least 170 died and 400 were injured.[44]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bangladesh Railway.

• Transport in Bangladesh
• Dhaka–Chittagong high-speed railway
• Bangladesh Railway Museum
• Railway Nirapatta Bahini

• Official site, timetables