What's the use of just having tracks and stations

For over 150 years, the railway has been providing transportation services to the people of this region. The Eastern Bengal Railway from the British era is now Bangladesh Railway. This organization is currently a state-owned and state-operated transportation agency. However, since independence, there have been few positive reports about Bangladesh Railway. Most of the time, the news has been about accidents and plundering. The railway transportation service has been running for decades using the stations, rail lines, engines, and bogies from the British era. Only occasionally, when absolutely necessary, has the railway authority repaired the bogies, engines, and rail lines.

Despite this, until the 1980s, before the development of road and waterways, the railway was the mainstay of the transportation system in the northern and eastern regions of Bangladesh. Passengers traveling long distances relied on the railway due to its low fares. However, the railway continued to operate at a loss and required subsidies year after year. The organization has not incurred losses of just one or two crore taka; it has suffered losses amounting to hundreds of thousands of crores. There have been numerous protests and legal efforts against Bangladesh Railway. Despite these actions, the organization has always remained under scrutiny and controversy.

Amid all the adversities, the current government, upon coming to power, undertook several major projects for the development of the railway. One of these projects is the inauguration of the Dhaka-Cox's Bazar rail line, and another is the establishment of a railway connection to the southern region by laying a rail line over the Padma Bridge. These are undoubtedly highly ambitious projects.

However, it is unfortunate that the Cox's Bazar rail line, constructed at a cost of nearly 12,000 crore taka, currently operates only two intercity trains and one commuter train. Despite passenger demand, the railway is constrained because it does not have enough additional coaches (bogies) to introduce new trains on this route. And this year, the Bhanga-Jashore section of the Padma Rail Link, costing around 39,000 crore taka, is expected to be inaugurated. However, due to a lack of engines and bogies, there is no potential for launching new trains. Naturally, this raises the question: if the expected benefits cannot be achieved from projects worth thousands of crores of taka, why were such large projects undertaken in the first place?

According to a special report published in the newspaper on Saturday (May 18), despite the government spending 63,380 crore taka on railway development projects in the last five years, the institution is still facing a crisis in terms of bogies and engines. Since returning to power in 2009, the Awami League government has spent more than 1 lakh 30 thousand crore taka on railways, including operational expenses. Yet according to railway statistics, 60 percent of engines and 47 percent of passenger coaches are expired. In the first 13 days of May alone, engines broke down 17 times at various locations. In April, there were 44 instances of engine breakdowns causing disruptions in train services.

Railway workers have informed the media that nearly half of the approximately 47,703 positions are vacant. The issue of manpower shortage has been persistent even before. With the introduction of new railway lines, the demand for manpower has increased further. Currently, there are 1,980 passenger-carrying bogies available in the railway fleet.

Out of these, 1,598 were operational for service on May 13, while the rest were undergoing repairs or were out of service due to various issues. Across the country, there are a total of 320 passenger-carrying trains. However, traditionally, these are organized into 74 rakes (groups of train bogies), meaning that multiple trains operate under one rake, or, in other words, one rake operates under multiple names.

Dr. Hadiuzzaman, a transportation specialist and professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), stated that despite spending billions of taka, the railway has not seen substantial development. There are grand stations, but no investment in purchasing engines and bogies. Even with the introduction of new railway lines, there is a lack of manpower. These shortcomings indicate a lack of foresight. Regarding infrastructure development projects, many find them appealing, which is why there is more attention towards them. In this context, Railway Minister Zillul Hakim also expressed to the media,
"The poor's, family proceeds in poverty."

Labeling projects worth billions of taka as the "livelihood of the poor" seems inappropriate when the situation suggests that it's not a lack of funds but rather a lack of proper planning that is jeopardizing railway transportation. We hope the government will fulfill its promise of prudent planning and ensure the proper development of railway transportation for the welfare of the nation and its citizens.