After almost 30 years, Bangladesh Railway (BR) is going to buy 50 broad-gauge and 75 metre-gauge luggage vans aiming to improve its goods transportation services which helped it minimize the loss during the lockdown period.
Officials said BR had long been providing freight services with its 55 metre-gauge and 10 broad-gauge luggage vans.
The state-owned train operator last purchased such vans in 1980s, said the officials.
A contract to purchase the luggage vans will be signed with a Chinese joint venture firm named China National Technical Import and Export Company at Rail Bhaban on Monday in presence of Railway Minister Mohammad Nurul Islam Sujon.
The officials said the firm would enter the contract to supply 50 broad-gauge and 75 metre-gauge vans within 24 months after the cabinet committee on purchase gave approval to their Tk 3.58 billion (358 crore) proposal in July.
After arrival of new vans, they said, the BR's capacity to transport goods including perishable items from different parts of the country would improve significantly.
They also said the demand for luggage vans had been increasing following the country's economic growth.
Since suspension of train movement that caused a loss of Tk 40 million (4 crore) per day, BR maintained its goods transport services on a limited scale due to less risk of spreading the coronavirus by launching luggage vans and parcel services in the districts known as producing areas for specific crops, vegetables and fruits.
It is reported that BR could minimize its daily loss by managing an earning of Tk 50,000 on average by operating limited luggage vans during the lockdown period as road transport was restricted due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The tender for procuring the 50 board-gauge and 75 metre-gauge luggage vans was invited on July 08, 2018.
smunima@yahoo.com