Design work for running electric train on Chattogram-Dhaka corridor completed: PM

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has said the government has completed the design work for operating electric trains on the Chattogram-Dhaka corridor with the aim of reducing travel time and distance between Chattogram and Dhaka.

The prime minister said this while replying to a star-marked question from Mohammad Enamul Haque, member of parliament from Chattogram-12, during the prime minister's question-and-answer session in the parliament session on Wednesday afternoon.

Mohammad Enamul Haque's question was whether the government has any plan to launch an electric (bullet train) train to reduce travel time and distance between Dhaka and Chattogram, the lifeline of the country's economy, and if so, by when it would be implemented.

In reply, the prime minister said the feasibility study and detailed design work for setting up electric traction to operate electric trains on the Chattogram-Dhaka corridor has already been completed. He said the detailed work plan and timeline of the project will be determined once the necessary financing for its implementation is secured.

He further said that initiatives to implement the project will be taken subject to securing financing, adding that once implemented, it will become possible to operate electric trains on the Chattogram-Dhaka corridor, which will increase the average speed of trains and reduce travel time.

The prime minister said the feasibility study and detailed design work for constructing a chord line from Dhaka to Cumilla, aimed at reducing the distance of the Dhaka-Chattogram corridor, is ongoing. He said once the project is implemented, the distance between Dhaka and Chattogram will be reduced and the average speed will increase, making it possible to travel between Dhaka and Chattogram in less time.

Noting that the government has taken steps to convert the railway line from Dhaka to Chattogram into a dual-gauge double line, the prime minister said the feasibility study and detailed design work for constructing dual-gauge double lines from Tongi to Akhaura and from Laksam to Chattogram under these steps have already been completed. He said, of these, the Laksam-Chattogram dual-gauge double line development project proposal is under process for approval, while the DPP formulation for the Tongi-Akhaura dual-gauge double line project is at its final stage.

Tarique Rahman said he hopes that once these two projects are implemented, Bangladesh Railway's passenger transport capacity and train speed on the Chattogram-Dhaka corridor will increase.

The Jatiya Sangsad session began at 3:30pm under the chairmanship of Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad. The first 30 minutes of the session were allotted to the prime minister's question-and-answer session.