Risky railway bridges need urgent repair

A NATIONAL daily reported on Tuesday that large number of old and dilapidated railway bridges across the country are facing the risk of collapse anytime. More than a half-century old railway bridges, mostly built during and after British colonial era have become highly vulnerable to bear the weight of heavy wagons running over the railway tracks. The government’s high profile development activities such as building city flyovers is ignoring other essential construction and repair work such as the railway bridges when most trains are running at risk of being derailed or falling into ditches breaking depleted bridges.
 
Media report said even many Railway Bridges were built in recent years using of bamboo sticks along with iron rods in the support structures. At many places railway slippers have become too old and broken for Express Trains to safely run. Even Dhaka-Chittagong Railway lines as they appear faulty at many places, have failed to attract the government’s attention for urgent repair and re-fixing when the government is busy to showcase its success other ways. Only last week Dhaka-Sylhet railway communication remained snapped for several days due to the collapse of a bridge at Moulavibazar section to show how vulnerable the railway lines have become risking people’s life any time. Last year collapse of another railway bridge at the same area had also cut railway connection with Sylhet for several days.

In fact the country’s entire communication system is now at high risks. Killing of people in road accidents is a regular phenomenon. Launch capsize in rivers is taking people’s life in large number every time such accidents happen. We have big government set up at every place but there is none to take responsibility of the untimely death of people. Highway police are very poorly performing to stop road accidents, while absence of monitoring of riverine transports is causing frequent deaths – the last being early this week in a launch capsize in Dhaleshwari River.

Inadequate maintenance is blamed for poor condition of railway bridges putting passengers’ safety under severe threat. Shortage of budget is blamed for collapse of bridges but we can’t understand such excuse at a time when thousands of crore taka railway budget is largely exploited and illegally grabbed by railway men and supply contractors. Corruption is everywhere while the system is failing to properly work.

We are apprehending major setback in the Rainy season when old bridges may collapse from heavy rain or mudslide from hills as railway lines runs through them.

At present a total of 3567 railway bridges exists in our railway system that include roughly 350 small and medium bridges not in good condition. Reports said the Railway Ministry is moving with a plan to rebuild around 500 bridges in Eastern Zone and over 419 in Western Zone. This is no doubt a major development but in our view it should in no way delay the repair of risky bridges to avoid accidents.