Bangladesh Railway, which this country inherited from the British colonial era, is more than 160 years old. It is the pioneer of land transportation in the country. Even in this age of style and speed, the railway has not lost its importance and popularity as a convenient and safe mode of mass transportation. However, despite the overwhelming demand for its services, its historical significance, and its immense potential, it is perplexing that BR has remained a loss-making entity over the years, and is struggling to come out of that ptrdicament till today.
In many ways, BR is responsible for its own misery. Uncontrolled corruption, irregularities and neglect over the years have eroded the vitality of a promising business. Bangladesh is a populous country and there is no dearth of passengers for the trains at any point in time. And trains still run at capacity. Overcrowded trains leaving the capital for various destinations during the Eid holidays support this assertion. Passengers are even seen travelling on the train's roof and clinging to doors and windows. Why should a service so widely popular be losing money? In the last fiscal year (FY 2023-24) alone, the BR incurred an operating loss of nearly Tk 20 billion.
After inaugurating a long-awaited train service from Dhaka to Khulna via the Padma Bridge on Tuesday, Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Adviser to the Ministry of Railways, said, "The Railway must generate sufficient revenue to cover its operating expenses. The government cannot indefinitely subsidize every sector."
But the railway's financial health has deteriorated to the point where the BR is now seeking government funding for its regular maintenance, despite its own policy mandating that such maintenance should be funded through its own revenue budget. According to a recent report published in this paper, BR submitted a proposal seeking Tk 17.92 billion for the maintenance of over 1,500 kilometers of railway tracks in the eastern region. The Planning Ministry, however, has raised questions regarding BR's reliance on development funds for such essential upkeep. But BR argues the inadequate revenue collection made it impossible for them to perform necessary maintenance.
The reason behind this predicament is multifaceted, including poor management, misplaced priorities, insufficient engines and coaches, black-marketing of tickets, wastage and theft of fuel and other resources, and higher maintenance costs for outdated equipment, which has eroded the vitality of BR over the years. Since a separate ministry for the sector was established in 2012, many ambitious initiatives were taken and a whopping TK 896.21 billion was poured to pull it out of despair, but the railway reminds one of a black hole that sucks up all efforts and money poured into it. Most of the development funds were spent on constructing "eye-catching" stations and new rail lines, while the core operational needs of the BR, such as the procurement of locomotives, carriages, and the recruitment of adequate staff, remained neglected. Consequently, it cannot run sufficient number of trains on newly constructed routes, and many routes have even been closed.
Take for example, the Dohazari-Cox's Bazar railway line, built at a cost of Tk 1834.47 billion was designed to support 6-7 daily train sertvices but currently only two trains run on Dhaka-Cox's Bazar route, while train service on Ctg-Cox's Bazar route was suspended in June due to engine crisis. Similarly, Dhaka-Ctg rail corridor was upgraded into dual-gauge double lines at a cost of TK 65.0454, but only one train could be added to the existing fleet. BR also cannot operate sufficient number of trains on many other routes due to a shortage of engines.
Even if there were an adequate number of carriages, BR could increase revenue per train by adding additional coaches to existing trains and increasing freight transportation. Despite high demand for passenger trains as well as freight transportation, BR is miserably failing to tap into its potential. According to an estimate, BR needs about 3,000 coaches and approximately 500 engines to run uninterrupted train service on all its routes. But currently, it has only 1,788 coaches and 295 operational engines. Moreover, 47 per cent of the existing coaches and 60 per cent of the engines have exceeded their economic lifespan. These aging and malfunctioning engines, coaches, and wagons frequently break down, disrupting operations. With fewer engines than required, one engine is often used to operate multiple trains daily, increasing the likelihood of breakdowns and delays.
Compounding the crisis is the misuse of funds. Instead of fulfilling these basic requirements of coaches and engines, the authorities in recent years spent substantial amounts of funds on conducting feasibility studies for projects like bullet trains, electric trains, and circular railways, none of which have been implemented. For instance, Tk 1 billion was spent on the feasibility study of a bullet train on the Dhaka-Chittagong route, Tk 250 million on a circular railway around Dhaka, and Tk 3.22 billion on four proposed subways in Dhaka. After spending billions on those feasibility studies, the projects were shelved.
These staggering amounts of money were flushed down the drain when two railway workshops one in Saidpur, Nilphamari, and the other in Pahartoli, Chattogram - are in a state of neglect. In the last financial year, only Tk 65 million was allocated for Saidpur workshop against a demand of Tk 270 million. As a result of dwindling funds and neglect, the workshop, which once could repair 900 coaches annually and build 20 new ones, now can repair a maximum of 450 coaches yearly and produces no new coaches, making the country entirely dependent on imports for new rolling stock.
Will there be a change under the current government? A lot will depend on the sincerity of the people in whose hands the responsibility is reposed. If the authorities' primary intention is to plunder through misplaced priorities instead of making rail service a viable, comfortable, and reliable option for travelers, BR will never manage to get out of the rut in which it is stuck.
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