Deal signed to better Ctg railway station

FE Report Bangladesh Railway has signed a Tk 2.51 billion accord with a local company to remodel its Chittagong station for the improvement of its operational capacity. The Chittagong railway station, the second largest in the country, has been facing severe congestion during peak hours while handling both passenger and freight trains due to lack of adequate tracks and terminal facilities. It operates 42 passenger trains daily along with some freight trains, but most of the trains miss schedules of dispatch on a regular basis. BR Director General Abu Taher and Managing Director of Max Automobile Products Limited Golam Mohammad Alamgir signed the contract on behalf of their respective organisations at Railway Bhaban Tuesday. Max Automobile Products Limited won the contract for Tk 2.26 billion under which it has been assigned to carry out construction of 14.69 kilometre long welded track, bridge, ballast, new platform level crossing, signaling system improvement, etc within two years. Officials said under the deal, the company will remodel the Chittagong station yard, construct track between Chittagong Marchalling Yard and Pahartali Station and introduce modern signaling system. They said the Chittagong Station Yard Remodelling is one of the sub-projects of Dhaka Chittagong Railway Development project, which was taken up in 2007 to improve the train services in the Dhaka-Chittagong rail corridor. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has proposed to support the project under its Overseas Development Assistance loan. The railway officials said CANARAIL of Canada, SMEC of Australia and DB International of Germany have been working as consultants while ACE Consultants Limited Bangladesh and Dainichi Consultants of Japan are working as co-partners of the project.