Govt plans green rail system with Tk 935m preparatory project

The government has initiated a move to implement a Tk 935.1 million project in a bid to lay the groundwork for introducing green railway transport system in the country.
Bangladesh Railway will implement the project titled 'Green Railway Transport Preparatory Technical Assistance' and it is scheduled for completion by March 2027, reports BSS.
Funding for the project will come from both domestic and international sources. The government of Bangladesh will provide Tk 283.7 million, while the remaining Tk 651.4 million will be financed through a project loan from the International Development Association (IDA), a lending arm of the World Bank.
The project has been approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) at its recent meeting.
The project area covers Dhaka Railway Station in Kamalapur and Dhaka Airport Railway Station under the Dhaka-Chattogram corridor; from Faujdarhat to the Chattogram Goods Port Yard (CGPY); and from CGPY to Bay Terminal at Patenga in Chattogram, and Mirsharai upazila in Chattogram.
The World Bank funding will be used to carry out feasibility studies for several key components, including the expansion and reconstruction of the station building and other facilities at Airport Railway Station, the relocation of existing operational and maintenance facilities, and the reconstruction of station yard at Kamalapur Station to create a multimodal transport hub.
In addition, the project aims to establish rail connectivity from Faujdarhat to the Goods Port Yard and Bay Terminal in Chattogram, as well as to enhance rail links within the Mirsharai Economic Zone.
Talking to BSS, a Planning Commission official said that the Physical Infrastructure Division of the planning commission held a meeting of the Special Project Evaluation Committee (SPEC) on February 12 where the Planning Commission recommended implementing the project, subject to fulfillment of some conditions.
The official said the World Bank has initially given consent to provide $6 million as a Project Preparatory Advance (PPA) from the project's main loan.
As part of the project, there will be a feasibility study on reconstructing station building yards, including the relocation of the existing operation and maintenance facilities to facilitate the construction of multimodal transport hubs at the Kamalapur and Dhaka Airport stations.
There will be a feasibility study on the development of rail connections from Faujdarhat to the Goods Port Yard and Bay Terminal in Chattogram.
The purchase of freight locomotives, relief trains, and haulage, as well as the development of rail connection infrastructure in the Mirsharai Economic Zone will be financed by the main project.
Once the green railway transport system is launched fully, there will be less carbon emission which would also help minimise environment pollution.
The Planning Commission official said that the purpose of the Green Railway Transport is to enhance the overall capacity of the railway management alongside improving its standard of services in a bid to develop and modernise properly the railway infrastructures as well as developing sustainable and environment-friendly transportation system.
Improved railway transportation system will also ensure easier communication, reduce manifold the transport cost, help flourish trade and commerce and thus create employment opportunities, added the official.
The project has been included in the new list of foreign-funded unapproved projects under the Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP) for the current fiscal year (FY25). Feasibility study will be conducted under this project.