Railway needs pragmatic planning

The Railway Department is lucky to finally have a separate ministry for the first time in the history of Bangladesh. After Independence, every sector except Bangladesh Railway has made some progress. The speed of development has no doubt been hindered due to lack of political consensus and tolerance. Yet, certain long-desired projects have been accomplished. The Bangabandhu Bridge over the river Jamuna is one of them. Bangladesh Railway hardly witnessed any development at all during this period. It remained languishing under the Ministry of Communications as a wing or division, practically surrogate to the Roads and Highways Division. Be it military government, or quasi-democratic or democratic government, the fate of the Railway remained unchanged. During the Pakistan period, the Railway was under the central government. In 1962, it was handed over to the provincial government. From then onward, the Railway Division had a separate budget. A few years back, it was merged with the national budget, thereby putting the last nail on the coffin of the Railway. Occasionally, we have heard about some development projects, but they were ultimately lost in the political charade. Let us cite a few examples. It was announced that the Syedpur-Chilahati and Rajshahi-Chapainawabganj routes under Nilphamari and Rajshahi districts would be developed, but till date there has been zero progress. The impecunious Railway Division could not spend money as the entire budget of the communications ministry has always been swallowed by the gargantuan Roads and Highways Division. After Independence, there has been a heavy flow of private investments in the road transport sector. Of course, the road transport sector provides quick return on investments. But certain syndromes hostile towards the Railway developed. It is alleged that military capitalism has engulfed the economy of Pakistan. Of course, the reasons are obvious. Since the creation of Pakistan, the country has been groaning under the military rule--covertly or overtly. Even during the so-called democratic rule, the army exercises power through its intelligence agency. Bangladesh had to witness military rule for quite a long period. There might have been moderate growth of military capitalism. However, what we have witnessed here is the alarming growth of political capitalism. The road transport business is under the control of a few billionaires who are political leaders. There exists a nexus between the transport owners and leaders of the transport workers' union, making them very powerful. The rail transport is cheap, comfortable and less risky. No other country in the world has derided the Railway the way Bangladesh did. We are witnessing a tough competition among some countries such as France, Japan and China as to who will ultimately own the fastest train in the world. The Indian Railway has set up railway lines even in the hilly state of Tripura, hitherto unthought-of. We need a Prometheus to unchain the Railway, because the saviour of it will have to face a lot of obstruction both from the ruling and the opposition parties. Suranjit Sengupta, the new Railway Minister, is a very senior politician and one of the longest-serving members of the parliament. He must have enjoyed train journeys during his childhood. We are sure that he will not utter utopian fantasies like his predecessors. We hope that the Railway will be restored to its pre-liberation position, at least. Not to speak of mail and express trains, even the local ones had tried to maintain the time schedules. Certain local trains used to run keeping in mind the need of important educational institutions. Rail coaches were fairly well-maintained. What is the present situation? It is unimaginable. More than 60 railway stations have been closed. The conditions of the railway tracks are miserable. No speedy trains can run on such tracks. Outdated railway engines are being used. That is why there have been frequent incidents of derailment or stoppage of engines, midway on a journey. So, the immediate needs are procurement of railway engines, coaches and rolling stocks. At present, we should not think of laying any new railway tracks. The existing ones should be renovated, and replaced where need be. In a word, all steps should be taken for making these tracks passable. Measures should be taken to import all necessary equipment under a crash programme. Bangladesh Railway has a very old and traditional workshop at Syedpur. It was a prospective one. A comprehensive plan should be prepared and, of course, be implemented for expansion and development of the workshop. Thereafter, we shall not have to import engines and coaches. The Railway Ministry may face the shortage of trained and skilled manpower. We firmly believe that the Railway Minister, an astute politician, will be able to overcome these difficulties. If the newly-formed railway ministry can assess the immediate needs, prepare a development plan and start to implement it, it will be able to move on its own without waiting for order or instructions from the prime minister. The ministry can then lobby the Prime Minister's Office for allocation of the required funds. During the pre-liberation days, East Pakistan Railway had an advisory board, for giving suggestions for its overall development. Persons with eminent social standings were chosen as members of the advisory body. This advisory board was in a better position to give guidelines for smooth functioning of the organisation. The long and short end of the story is that we are pinning much hope on the first Railway Minister of the country. The Railway is a very ideal public transport system. We need not go far. In Kolkata in the neighbouring Indian state of Pashimbangla millions of commuters avail themselves of the train services for attending their places of work. Bangladesh Railway can also help bring commuters from Mymensingh, Narsingdi, Narayanganj and adjoining areas, if proper steps are taken. Nonetheless, we are apprehensive too. Usually, more manpower with adequate logistic support is needed to increase the efficiency. But in the context of Bangladesh, the reverse usually happens. A division has been created within the Ministry of Communication known as the Bridge Division. The purpose was to ensure the safety and proper maintenance of the important bridges of the country. The collapse of any important bridge on the national highway will mean disaster. Bangabandhu Bridge, and the bridges over the Meghna and the Gumti rivers on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway are such ones. The Meghna Bridge has been damaged because the overloaded trucks have been plying over it. Communications Minister Obaidul Quader had to rush there for installing a weighing machine. We have heard for a long time that the Bangabandhu Bridge has developed some kind of cracks, the extent of which is not known. Let us hope that the Railway Ministry will not meet the same fate, rather it will shine declaring its independent existence. The writer is a former civil servant and a former secretary of the Dhaka Stock Exchange