Southwestern districts cheer as Dhaka-Bhanga rail link via Padma Bridge opens Tuesday

The wait of the people of southwestern districts will come to an end as the much-desired Dhaka-Bhanga railway connectivity via Padma Bridge will be opened on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the 82-kilometre railway track from Dhaka to Faridpur’s Bhanga upazila under “Padma Bridge Rail Link Construction Project”.

She is likely to go to Faridpur by train and will address a rally at 2 pm at Kazi Abu Yusuf Stadium in Bhanga Upazila headquarters, according to project officials.

Project Director Brigadier General Syed Ahmed said already the trial runs of a passenger train and a freight train have been completed on the route successfully.

Project details

On October 14 last year, the prime minister opened the construction work on a rail link between Dhaka and Jashore under the ‘Padma Bridge Rail Link Construction Project.’

The railway line is being constructed in three phases (plus a 3km link being built between Dhaka and Gandaria): 37km Gandaria-Mawa section, a 42km Mawa-Bhanga section, and an 87km Bhanga Junction-Jashore section. Some 43.2km of loops, siding and Y-connections bring the total track length to 215.2km.

The entire railway project from Dhaka-Jashore is scheduled to be completed by June, 2024.

There will be 20 stations from Dhaka to Jashore, of which 14 are new and 6 are already there. The previous stations are also being modernised. Once completed, trains will be able to run at a speed of 120 to 130 kilometres.

There will be no railway crossing anywhere on the Dhaka-Jashore railway line as underpasses are being constructed at each level crossing all the way from Dhaka to Jashore.

The distance from Dhaka to Bhanga is about 82 kilometres. The new railway line from Gandaria in Dhaka has been added to the Padma Bridge via Keraniganj.

Trains will be able to run from Kamalapur to Bhanga via Gandaria along the Dhaka-Narayanganj railway line.

Under the project, 100 modern passenger coaches have already been purchased. New trains will be introduced by decorating the rakes with them.

The Padma Bridge rail link project was approved on May 3, 2016. At that time, its construction cost was estimated to be around Tk 34,989 crore. When the project proposal was amended on May 22, 2018, the cost increased to Tk 39,247 crore. The cost may increase further, according to concerned authorities.

The Padma Bridge rail link project is being constructed with Chinese funding, on the basis of G2G (government to government). Chinese contractor China Railway Engineering Group (CREC) is working on the project. China‍‍`s Exim Bank is providing a loan of $ 266.79 crore to implement the project.

The rest of the cost is being managed by the government of Bangladesh.

What people think about the rail link

UNB Faridpur correspondent reports: The long-cherished dream of southwestern region‍‍`s people including Faridpur, Gopalganj, Madaripur and Narail will come into reality through the opening of the rail connectivity.

It will ensure safe journey of commuters from Dhaka to southwestern region at an affordable rate.

Talking to UNB, Abul Foyez Shah Newaz, a freedom fighter, said “Once country‍‍`s independence was a dream to us, the train movement over the Padma Bridge was also a dream for the people of this region and the dream has come into reality with the sincere efforts of the government.”

Photo: Collected

Faridpur’s Boalmari Upazila Chairman MM Mosharraf Hossain Musha Mia, said “Once we had to endure huge sufferings to go to our home village from Dhaka during Eid and the bus owners used to take extra fare as per their wish. But now people of this region will be able travel at an affordable cost.”

AKM Zahid Hasan, Chairman of Alfadhanga Upazila, said people of this area have to go to Dhaka for business purposes by spending Tk 500-550 per person. “If the train communication starts, they can easily travel with their goods at lower cost,” he added.

Nazrul Islam, President of Faridpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said not only the jute mill owners but also the onion traders will also be able also carry their goods at a lower cost in a short period of time.