Dhaka-N\\\'ganj train transit to be upgraded

The government will upgrade the railway between the capital and the adjacent business city of Narayanganj to a dual-gauge double-track one for smooth transportation of business and office-going passengers, officials said Saturday.
Bangladesh Railway (BR) officials said a Tk 3.99 billion project has been undertaken to upgrade the outmoded single-track metre-gauge (MG) line to dual-gauge double tracks.
"We will build a 16.1-kilomtre line between the two cities and 5.43km loop-line there for smooth train operation," a senior BR official said.
Dhaka-Narayanganj is one of the busiest corridors for the railway as it carries thousands of passengers and industrial goods daily to and from the capital city.
The Railway authorities recently sent a Development Project Proposal (DPP) to the Planning Commission (PC) for approval to build the planned double-track rail-line.
A BR official said they would construct the double-line dual-gauge tracks for ensuring smooth run of regular trains and commuter trains between the capital city, Dhaka, and the river-port city, Narayanganj.
Bangladesh's railway sector is in a vulnerable condition for a lack of adequate focus by the past governments. The Awami League-led government has tried to improve its services by investing huge sums of money in the last five years.
A senior BR official said that if they could set up the dual-gauge line, they would introduce many commuter trains between the capital and the business city to reduce large population pressure on Dhaka city.
"After introducing commuter trains, the job-holders in the capital can reside outside Dhaka city and easily reach their workplaces within an hour from Narayanganj," he added.
"We have a target to construct the Dhaka-Narayanganj railway track by June 2017," the official told the FE.
The existing Dhaka-Narayangaj railway section has had metre-gauge (MG) line where the number of trains is not adequate. After the setting up of the dual-gauge double-line, the railway section will be the busiest one.
The AL-led government has invested a record Tk142.49 billion worth of funds in its last five years in office between the financial year (FY) 2009-10 and FY2013-14 for improving the wobbly Bangladesh Railway.
Railway handles approximately 7.0 per cent of the national passenger and freight traffic. It carries its maximum number of passengers between Chittagong and Dhaka, the nation's most important transport corridor. The Railway covers around 2,855 kilometres of railroads, employing a total of nearly 34,168 regular employees.
A total of 66.14 million passengers were carried across the country in FY 2011-12. The sector earned Tk 3.51 billion in revenue by carrying passengers and Tk 961.12 million for carrying freight in the same fiscal, BR data showed.