Bangladesh Railway (BR) plans to revive its two projects dropped by the interim government despite its importance in improving railway's workshop capacity, reducing operational costs and ensuring smooth train movement.
Officials have said coach-and locomotive- handling capacities of BR's two existing workshops located at Pahartoli and Syedpur have been saturated.
The proposed Rajbari New Carriage and Wagon Repair Workshop was supposed to increase overall capacity of maintenance of both metre-gauge and broad-gauge carriages and wagons to meet its growing demand for railway service.
Besides, they said, full capacity of Khulna-Mongla rail track could not be utilized without 126.25-km double-line track on Khulna-Darshana railway-junction line. Its impact would have been reflected on Khulna-Dhaka, Khulna-Chilahati and Khulna-Rajshahi routes.
Despite feasibility study and detailed design of both projects being completed, the last government dropped the projects following its strategy not to approve any new project for fund constraints following the political upheavals and regime change.
Sources said the interim government rejected the Rajbari Workshop project as a "political project" as Rajbari is the home of former railway minister of the ousted Awami League government Zillur Hakim.
But, they said, the project's feasibility study had been done long before Zillur Hakim joined as Railway Minister in 2018.
They also cited another reason for ditching the project without finishing unfinished works: uncertainty in funding the project from the Indian line of credit after the ouster of the Awami League government.
The BR authorities have already spent around Tk 200 million to carry out the feasibility study and detailed design.
But official sources have alleged that despite importance of the two projects, authorities concerned, including the Ministry of Railways, did not take any initiative to convince higher authorities, including the Planning Commission, in support of the railway -sector service improvement.
''In the changed scenario, we are now planning to secure the approval for the two projects after sharing importance of the dropped-out projects,'' said one official, preferring not to be quoted by name.
The Rajbari New Carriage and Wagon Repair Workshop project was taken to reduce the operational cost of the state-owned train operator by increasing capacity of proper maintenance of both metre -gauge and broad-gauge coaches and wagons.
Of the 105-acre land for the project, 45 acres are owned by the BR. Feasibility study on the workshop was done in2018, long before Zillur Hakim's appointment as railway minister.
According to the BR, 621 broad-gauge carriages and 953 metre-gauge wagons are being maintained in the Syedpur Railway workshop against the capacity of 460 carriages and 150 wagons. The Pahartoli Railway Workshop also keeps 1124 carriages and2758 wagons against its capacity of 521 and 373 respectively.
Officials say the BR expects to add 460 BG coaches and 730 BG Wagons by 2027.
As backlog in both workshops is increasing, there is no option other than to set up new workshop, they added.
smunima@yahoo.com
© 2026 - All Rights with The Financial Express
