Sheer neglect downgrades commuter train service

The diesel-electric multiple unit (DEMU) service that was introduced in 2013 intended to give commuters respite in terms of both safe travel and a convenient, time saving means of transportation. The service that involved a cost of Tk 6.5 billion was unveiled back in 2009. It has had its hiccups over implementation but there is no denying that there exists massive demand for modern commuter services such as this one in the rapidly urbanising landscape in and around major cities such as the capital city Dhaka. Millions of people are literally forced to stay within the city limits at great cost to personal expenditure and downgraded living conditions -- all in a vain attempt to be able to reach the workplace on time. One of the primary reasons why a service such as DEMU had been envisaged was to emulate the experiences of major urban centers in Asia where millions of people commute to the capital city for work, and then leave the city for the suburbs they call home.
Sadly, this particular service has been left to rot intentionally. Bangladesh Railway (BR) has actually reduced commuter trains over the period despite the overwhelming demand for more train services than less. It would appear that public needs and demand are not a priority issue in the overall gamut of things BR considers important. Today, BR operates 88 low-capacity commuter trains in eastern and western zones. Of these, 52 out of 78 trains in the western zones provide dedicated commuter services connecting urban centers. It seems ironic that the railway authorities would pull the plug on six routes including Chattogram University, Chattogram-Kaliakoir and Dhaka-Naraynganj route at a time when BR has been active in acquiring several hundred new coaches over the past decade. None of these new carriages have been allocated to DEMU, which is designated as "second-class rail category" by BR. What exactly does that mean?
All around the world, railway has been deemed as an affordable and convenient means to move large numbers of people and cargo. One needs to look no further than Kolkata in West Bengal to see how commuter trains facilitate the movement of hundreds of thousands of people who come to the city to work and then leave it to go home beyond the main city center. Such a service has allowed that city to be able to prosper as public utility services were able to handle the demands of rapid urbanisation better. The idea being to allow the non-urban populace to continue enjoying a more affordable life by living in suburbs (or beyond for that matter) and only come to the city for employment, not as a permanent abode.
These lessons have not been learnt by BR and that would probably explain why sufficient number of coaches have not been added over a decade, rather continue to degrade and its services curtailed. For instance, there is no dedicated seating space for women who continue to face both discrimination and harassment on a daily basis. Experts are of the opinion that the railway sector is completely missing the urban development focus in Bangladesh, even though its importance is growing rapidly in most developing countries. Questions have been raised by BR about the quality of carriages that were supplied under the DEMU programme, but that hardly absolves the service of not taking corrective action against carriage suppliers as vast amounts of public money was involved in the project. Nor does it absolve BR of abysmal quality of service it is providing to commuters who need and demand its expansion and not contraction.