The first test run of train along the newly-constructed Jamuna Bangabandhu Railway Bridge will be conducted today, paving the way for the commercial launch of the country's longest rail bridge in the second week of January.
Officials said a set of trains with three coaches will run on the double line of the 4.8 kilometre bridge, connecting Bangabandhu East and West Stations.
Following the successful test run, further trial runs will be conducted to finalize the date for the bridge's commercial opening.
The Bangladesh Railway (BR) has constructed the dual gauge double line bridge at a cost of Tk 167.80 billion with the support of Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Project Direct of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge Al Fattah Mohammad Masudur Rahman said the inaugural date will be finalised after successful trial runs in two to three phases.
Initially, the test will be conducted on a single track. Once successful, train operations on the existing Jamuna rail-cum-road bridge will be suspended, and trials on the second track will begin.
The new rail bridge will replace the Jamuna rail-cum-road bridge. Currently, 38 trains move at a speed of 20 kilometre per hour taking 20 minutes to cross the bridge and about 45 to 50 minutes at two stations on both sides of the bridge.
The project director noted that the new bridge will reduce crossing time to 5 to 6 minutes, allowing trains to run at a speed of 100 to 120 kilometre per hour. It will also have the capacity to accommodate 88 trains daily.
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