More rly tracks on N'ganj, Joydevpur, Dhaka routes soon

FE Report
Two pair of additional trains will be added to Dhaka-Narayanganj and Dhaka-Joydevpur routes from January 11 as more people are leaning on rail commuting, Railway Minister Suranjit Sengupta said Saturday.
The minister, who took over the newly formed ministry on December 9, said that such special initiative was taken as the number of railway passengers has almost doubled in recent times due to growing incidents of road crashes.
"We've decided to add another intercity train to the Dhaka-Sylhet route from Pahela Boishakh (April 14)," he told reporters while unveiling a two-year roadmap for the development of ailing railway sector at Rail Bhaban.
He said the sector (railway) was most neglected by the successive governments who allowed a huge number of medium and heavy vehicles each year to run without considering capacity of the roads, causing road crashes.
"That's why, people look for alternative options and started leaning on rails," he said.
The ministry stressed on maintaining time-schedule of trains by ensuring maximum use of its existing resources, he said, adding that the government would lay importance on constructing additional tracks on Dhaka-Tongi-Joydevpur and Dhaka-Narayanganj routes for timely operation of trains.
"I have been pressing the donors to fund the third and fourth tracks on the routes," Mr Sengupta said, adding that successful installation of the additional tracks will help the government ease traffic congestion remarkably.
The minister claimed that maintaining time-schedule of trains has improved significantly soon after his taking over the charge of the ministry.
Improvement in maintaining time-schedule of intercity trains now stands at 77 per cent, mail trains at 69 per cent and local trains at 70 per cent from the previous 44, 55 and 58 per cent respectively.
According to the latest plan, Bangladesh Railway authorities would build third and fourth tracks between Kamalapur Station and Tongi junction where most of the incoming trains stop for clearance to enter the capital delaying the movement of passengers to their respective destination.
The railway ministry has taken a number of initiatives, including updating stations with modern facilities, increasing passengers' facilities, replacing old coaches and ensuring pure drinking water for travellers at each station, as part of its short action plan.
The minister said they have been working hard to reactivate the closed rail lines across the country.
Asked about $1.0 billion loan from India, he said the amount will be used mostly for the development of the railway. "It'll take more time to get the money due to complexities in the process of releasing the loan," he added.