Railway's glorious past and present
Amirul Islam | Monday, 2 June 2008
The government-owned Bangladesh Railway (BR), whose origin can be traced back to the British period in this region, is presently a neglected mode of transportation. But it could retain its previous position as the more sought after means of transporting both passengers and cargoes provided it was run efficiently. However, efficiency is hard to come by in the present-day conditions of the railway in Bangladesh. Thus, the once major mode of transport of the country is, today, a frail figure compared to its robust past. Mismanagement, corruption and lack of modernisation have led to this state of the railways, whereas with timely reforms, restructuring and increasing in capacities, the BR could become an invigorated organisation discharging efficient services for the economy while operating without losses.
Ever since the creation of Bangladesh, BR was treated in a step motherly way. Nearly 85 per cent of the public development budget in the transportation sector was spent for developing the road networks. Such denial of fund for development, plus the fact that hardly any reform activities were carried out in BR, have created this situation. The BR has become a sick entity when, ironically, it should have been the favourite mode of transportation for all due to its other in-built advantages.
Expansion of railway networks involves less acquisition of land than for building roads. This is a big plus point in a country facing scarcity of land. Railways are also safer than roads where nearly 2 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) is lost to the road accidents. Railways also generate significantly less pollution than on roads and are, thus, more environment-friendly. Especially, as the bulk carrier of goods, commercially, railways provide the cheapest mode of haulage of goods for business operators. Transportation cost of containers by rail from Dhaka to Chittagong, for instance, is found to be substantially lower than that by Lorries on roads.
Considering all these factors, railway's development should be a top priority for the government. Apart from channelling greater public funds for BR's development, government should take prompt action to utilise external assistance which is on offer from different development partners. Simultaneously, BR should be turned into a corporate body with the government, though not giving up its control over it, yet keep its association with it at more flexible level. At the same time, BR's day to day operations should be autonomous, while the officials would remain accountable regarding decisions and for running the new corporate entity on commercial lines.
Ever since the creation of Bangladesh, BR was treated in a step motherly way. Nearly 85 per cent of the public development budget in the transportation sector was spent for developing the road networks. Such denial of fund for development, plus the fact that hardly any reform activities were carried out in BR, have created this situation. The BR has become a sick entity when, ironically, it should have been the favourite mode of transportation for all due to its other in-built advantages.
Expansion of railway networks involves less acquisition of land than for building roads. This is a big plus point in a country facing scarcity of land. Railways are also safer than roads where nearly 2 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) is lost to the road accidents. Railways also generate significantly less pollution than on roads and are, thus, more environment-friendly. Especially, as the bulk carrier of goods, commercially, railways provide the cheapest mode of haulage of goods for business operators. Transportation cost of containers by rail from Dhaka to Chittagong, for instance, is found to be substantially lower than that by Lorries on roads.
Considering all these factors, railway's development should be a top priority for the government. Apart from channelling greater public funds for BR's development, government should take prompt action to utilise external assistance which is on offer from different development partners. Simultaneously, BR should be turned into a corporate body with the government, though not giving up its control over it, yet keep its association with it at more flexible level. At the same time, BR's day to day operations should be autonomous, while the officials would remain accountable regarding decisions and for running the new corporate entity on commercial lines.