ADB offers help to establish Dhaka-Cox's Bazar rail link

Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help Bangladesh Railway (BR) in establishing direct rail link from Dhaka to Cox's Bazar by converting the metre gauge track into a broad gauge line from Dhaka to Dohazari of Chattogram.

At present, BR has a metre gauge railway line from Dhaka to Dohazari of Chattogram.

With the financial assistance of ADB, a project is underway to set up single-line dual-gauge (both broad and metre gauge) rail link from Dohazari to Cox's Bazar.

Official sources said ADB has assured the BR authority of providing necessary support to conduct feasibility studies and investment fund to build the dual gauge railway line.

Feasibility studies on 320-kilometre corridor are now being conducted in three phases--Tongi-Akhaura, Laksam- Chattogram and Chattogram-Dohazari.

Sources said the dual gauge double line which means double lines with both broad gauge and metre gauge tracks is being developed from Laksam and Chinki Astana with the financial assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

As the study on Tongi-Akhaura line is almost complete, the officials said, the project work on 97-kilometre corridor will start next year.

"ADB has assured the BR authority of investing in the corridor phase by phase starting from 2020," said an official.

As Dhaka-Chattogram is the busiest rail corridor of the country, he said, special efforts have been made to increase the train capacity.

At present, BR can operate maximum 50 trains on the existing double line metre gauge track.

However, sources said a single line broad gauge has been proposed from Chattogram to Dohazari due to having less rail traffic in the Chattogram hill tracts.

BR has undertaken a project to construct 3rd and 4th dual gauge lines on Dhaka-Tongi section which is used to run trains both in eastern and western zones of the country. Dhaka-Chattogram is part of eastern zone.

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