New railroads will link historical frontier districts where Bangladesh's first capital as seat of the government-in-exile was established, officials said.
Under this plan, Bangladesh Railway (BR) moves to construct a new rail line between Darshana and Meherpur through Damurhuda and Mujibnagar to facilitate cheaper travel to the historical sites.
They said the move falls in line with the Prime Minister's directive for setting up cross-country railway networks as there were no rail tracks in mid-western parts of the country.
To establish the rail, they said, a feasibility study will be conducted to decide about various components of the railway tracks, including suitable route through studying all possible routes, and economic viability of the project.
BR has already prepared a technical project to conduct the feasibility study at a cost of Tk 125 million and sent to the Ministry of Railways for necessary measures to pass it on to the Planning Commission. The project is expected to be completed by August 2019.
Meherpur is the bordering district located in the country's mid-western part while Mujibnagar is the historical place where the country's first capital was formed following the swearing-in of the provisional government during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War against the then Pakistani regime.
The BR officials said many people throughout the country travel to Mujibnagar, mainly to its Amrakanon heartland, during national days to pay their respects to the leaders of the nation and the memories associated with the independence war.
In view of the situation, the officials said, BR feels the need of establishing environment-friendly and cheaper mode of transport in this missing rail corridor as road is now only mode for people, including tourists, to travel round these districts.
"We will bear the cost of the feasibility study from government's own funds. But, depending on the feasibility study, decision will be taken to seek foreign-currency or local funds for the next step of implementing the project," said one official in the planning section of the BR.
He said initially single broad-gauge line has been planned to be established in the corridor.
BR had more or less good network in east and western zones of the country. It has rail tracks up to Darshana which cross through the Bangabandhu road-cum-rail Bridge. To cover the missing link, it has already taken projects to establish new rail from Dhaka to Bhanga through the Padma Bridge now under construction.
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