Rebuilding railway network

To make train a popular mode of transport only ensuring comfortable, safe and economical journey is not enough. Easy accessibility and connectivity with the railway stations from all locations of the city are also important. Therefore, a short trip to a railway station requiring minimum time is a crucial factor, if we want to render it a favourite mode of transport. Moreover, it must be a hassle free trip to and from the railway station. In other words, connectivity within the city area is the key to drawing train passengers in a large number. The government has undertaken a modernisation programme for the Bangladesh Railway. Relocation of the existing stations to the most appropriate locations should also be included in the modernisation programme.
The location of the existing Kamalapur station is one of the main setbacks facing passengers from all-around the Dhaka City. Hence it mainly draws passengers from nearby areas or passengers use the mode under compulsion. The existing railway connection within the capital city is not serving its purpose up to the expectation; rather it is creating a substantial hindrance to road traffic because of the existence of so many level-crossings within the city creating a problem of gridlock. Moreover, accidents at the rail crossings claim many lives every year. So shifting of the existing Kamalapur station is urgent. But establishment of several stations at some places in the city can be an alternate solution, for example, railway stations at Jatrabari, Gulisthan, Farmgate, Mirpur, Uttara etc may be established to cater to the need of the city dwellers. Although these are all indicative locations, the main objective of the locations should be encompassing the whole Dhaka City for future requirement. For all future railway stations and railway tracks to be constructed within Dhaka City what is more crucial is their spatial location. They must be located underground or there would be subway stations and tracks while running within the city area. After crossing the whole city area, it could reappear at the ground level. Therefore, meticulous workout for underground route planning and prospective stations to encompass the whole city is very important for the city of Dhaka. Moreover, employing a space-efficient strategy is also urgently needed. As such, multi-deck trains need to be commissioned to cope with the high rush of passengers. For example, single-lane double-deck trains would be a substitute for double-lane single-deck trains, if the passenger carrying capacity is only considered.
The Bangladesh Railway is still at a rudimentary stage resulting from its long dereliction. It is the best time to remould it according to our need. On the contrary, some developed countries could not refurbish their trains into multi-deck ones, as they already have well-developed railway infrastructure that suits single-deck train communication. Bangladesh Railway must cash in on the past backwardness to seize this opportunity by adopting multi-deck technology. It might not have been possible, if there was fairly good railway infrastructure built based on single-deck technology. Most importantly, the multi-deck or multi-stack freight trains would allow Bangladesh to offer goods at cheaper prices in the competitive world-market.
Underground railway service within Dhaka City could serve as a metro rail as envisioned in the Strategic Transportation Plan (STP) for the city; if required, extra-widening of the tunnel and laying of extra tracks could be considered. Moreover, if the railway service is rearranged within the capital city, it might serve the purpose of Dhaka Elevated Expressway (DEE), partially, at the least. Furthermore, such a well-established rail service with and within the Dhaka city may encourage migration towards the Greater Dhaka Area also. Thus, the high capacity and such well connected railway services may lessen the pressure on the core city to a great extent. This can also be a substitution for costly flyovers that are now underway disfiguring the city. The underground railway system may serve as a substitute for many proposals envisaged in the STP for the Dhaka City. This consideration should be given paramount importance if we want to usher in a new era for Bangladesh Railway, without which railway would never emerge as a successful enterprise.
The writer is a traffic-cum-road safety engineer. Email: [email protected].