Ballast deficiencies spoil new rail lines

Planning ministry has uncovered severe deficiencies in the ballast thickness of new rail lines built in the Kashiani-Gopalganj-Tungipara region, with the ballast measuring only 100 millimetre at certain points.
The current ballast measurement is only 40 per cent of the 250mm standard set by the authorities concerned, showing an example of how corruption is perpetrated in the construction sector.
The inspection by the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) across multiple sections of the lines revealed variations in ballast thickness from 100-240 mm, averaging an 81mm shortfall.
The contractors, Max Infrastructure Limited and Toma Construction, handed more than 133 km of the lines and also received full payment despite using 32.36-per cent less ballast than required.
Labeling this as a "serious breach of contract," the IMED recommended a thorough investigation by railways ministry last June to address the issue, but it is yet to take any step to this end.
Rail secretary Abdul Baki, who took over on August 21, said he did not find any such report during his tenure as a member of the Planning Commission.
"I'll search for the report and take befitting action against those responsible immediately," he said, citing ballast shortages as a passenger's safety risk.
Similar concerns were raised on Laksam-Chinky Astana line along the Dhaka-Chittagong corridor, where thickness was found 69.20mm below the standard.
Repeated IMED inspections find that most lines built or rehabilitated since 2009 under the Awami League government fall short of required thickness.
Although recommended strongly, the ministry has reportedly not acted rightly or provided progress updates.
Analysing 13 such IMED reports, the FE found that only one rail line met the required stone ballast standard.
These projects developed or rehabilitated rail lines with a combined track length of over 1,225 km at an estimated Tk 100 billion.
Dr Md Shamsul Hoque, civil engineering professor at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, said inadequate stone ballasts for rail lines as unimaginable and an act of massive corruption.
Ballast thickness, gradation and angularity are crucial for the safe operation of trains over tracks, according to him.
Dr Hoque said the lives of a large number of passengers and the entire railway system have been made unsafe by reducing the number of stones to earn extras through corruption.
"I'm deeply saddened. Why does the IMED have to find ballast deficiencies? Doesn't the ministry have its own institutional and manpower for oversight? Or are themselves benefiting from the funds earned through corruption?"
IMED secretary Abul Kashem Md Mohiuddin said the division routinely recommends action on irregularities found during both implementation and post-implementation inspections of projects.
Yet, he noted that in most cases, the ministry concerned did not take any action, nor did it inform IMED of the steps taken.
"Although IMED is occasionally notified of measures supposedly taken by the ministry, we lack the capacity to verify whether any action has truly been implemented," added Mr Mohiuddin.
There might be some justification for some ballast corrosion for lack of proper upkeep, he said, adding that railways should have ballasts at an acceptable level through regular maintenance.
IMED found ballast thickness of average 200 mm with a shortage of 20 per cent on the 65-km line renovated at Tk 3.47 billion in 2019. The work began in 2010.
The line rehabilitated on the Pachuria-Bhanga-Faridpur section found average deficiency of 50 mm with a highest deficiency of 70 mm.
Earlier, IMED found a 22.5-per cent less ballast, with average thickness of 170.5 mm than the design standard of 220 mm at 10 points on the 86-km track from Tongi to Bhairab Bazar.
A report to evaluate rehabilitation work on the 92-km line, Rajshahi Rohonpur border main line and Amnura Chapai Nababgonj loop line, found ballast thickness of 127 mm significantly lower than standard 220 mm.
A 93mm lower thickness of ballasts catalysed extorting 42.27 per cent of ballast allotted for the line.
Due to the low amount of stone, according to the report, grass and bushes have grown in many places on the track.
Overloading on the ground due to insufficient thickness of the cushion can cause the track to give way with soil or cause the train to derail, it warns.
Contractor received 83,289 cubic metres of stone to rehabilitate the 50-km Syedpur-Chilahati line, which was 63.31 per cent higher than the original allocation of 51,000 cubic metres.
However, IMED found significant ballast deficits on some portions of the line.
The contractor used 20,000 cubic metres of ballast, which covered only 24.39 per cent of allocation for the project styled 'Rehabilitation of Sholashahar-Dohazari and Fatehabad-Nazirhat Sections'.
"Ballast thickness in rehabilitated tracks is significantly substandard, leading to visible track misalignment in several areas and causing cracks in sleepers due to insufficient stone support," revealed the IMED report.

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