Railway services
Thursday, 20 July 2017
RUPSHA-BAGERHAT railway was commissioned in 1918, and initially narrow gauge railway was introduced which was later changed to broad gauge during Pakistan time as Khulna-Kolkata and Assam railways had broad gauge lines. Unfortunately railway services were discontinued after two decades of our independence. Today bus services are the only mode of transport between Khulna and Bagerhat though Bagerhat is known globally as Khan Jahan Ali's heritage site, one of the three such sites in Bangladesh. In my student life during 1940-43 we used to tease our classmates hailing from Barisal as they did not have railway services in Barisal. Ironically, there is no railway service in Bagerhat district now. Bagerhat has hit the headlines of the world media because of Rampal power project near Sundarbans which is a world heritage site. New railway project connecting Myanmar with Chittagong and Cox's Bazar is in progress. We should think about restarting the Rupsha-Bagerhat railway link, more so in view of the Padma bridge under construction.
Mahmud Ali
New Eskaton Road
Dhaka