Hardinge Bridge still a wonder of railway engineering

ATM Nurun Nabi :
Hardinge Bridge, a steel railway bridge on the River Padma at Paksey, the headquarters of the country’s largest railway division, is a symbol of unique architecture, faultless construction and wonderful railway engineering. It has been named after Lord Hardinge, who was the Viceroy of undivided India from 1910 to 1916. The bridge is 5,900 feet long, with two-lane broad gauge lines and a steel footpath. Its specialty is that two trains can cross each other from opposite directions at a speed of over 60 miles per hour.
The construction work of the bridge began in 1910, though it was proposed at least 20 years before in 1890. It took almost two years to be completed, and trains started moving through the bridge in 1915. The Eastern Bengal Railway for establishing communication between Calcutta and Assam proposed the construction of a railway bridge on the river Padma in 1889. Sir FJE Spring in 1902 prepared a report on the bridge. A technical committee reported that a bridge could be constructed at Sara crossing the lower Ganges between Paksey and Bheramara Railway Stations. The bridge comprises 15 steel trusses. The main girders are modified to ‘Petit’ type.
The total cost of construction of the bridge, including the main spans, land spans, training work and approaches were 35,132,164. However, the most difficult task of the operation was river control or to make the impetuous river flow permanently under the bridge. For this, two guide banks of the ‘Bell-bound’ type named after JR Bell were built on either side, each being 4,000′ long extending 3,000′ above the bridge and 1,000′ downstream. The ends of the riverbanks were curved inward and heavily pitched with stoned boulders.
Hardinge Bridge was severely damaged during the War for Independence of Bangladesh in 1971. Very soon, it was reconstructed.
In addition, in the breathtaking design and marvelous construction, the Hardinge Bridge has no rival to be compared in the world. The students of engineering colleges and universities in Europe and North America study the magnificent success of the British engineers in building this bridge about 100 years ago. The wonderful Harding Bridge can be the source of revenue in the country’s tourism sector if initiative is taken.
Hardinge Bridge was commissioned in 1915 when the World War II was burning half of the world. It was constructed when Great Britain was involved with the fierce war against Germany and its allies. But the then government continued construction work regardless of the last effect of the war. In fact, the success of a project depends upon the good gesture of the government and what the Bangladesh government proved constructing Padma Bridge at Mawa. However, the specialty of the bridge is its imposing design and marvellous construction. Perhaps, very few railway bridges in the world can match Paksey in the field of design and construction. The double-lane broad gauge lines and a steel footpath have added extra dimension, which can be viewed from under the bridge and Paksey Station.
The best prize of Paksey is its friendly environment. As no bus or truck plies in the town, and as baby taxi .and cab are seldom found moving with passengers, there is little possibility of the environment pollution. The best prize of Paksey is its friendly environment. Another feature of Paksey is its large trees. Although the unscrupulous people chopped many large trees after independence, yet Paksey looks beautiful, especially at night owing to its geographical position. One travelling by train will be charmed when the train passes Paksey Station and the Hardinge Bridge.
Looking at the dune of the Padma, the bite of the Farakka Barrage constructed on the Indian part of the river Padma becomes visible. The barrage was commissioned in mid 70s, which dried the river Padma and seriously affected GK Project in Kushtia. Paksey has been promoted as business centre following the construction of EPZ. Many new buildings have been constructed to increase the potentiality of the town. In addition, Paksey has green landscape, a thing of beauty for the tourists.
After completion of construction, the British government asked engineer Gale to demand his reward. He said: I want the riversides people to use the bridge footpath without paying toll. His proposal was agreed. Since then till the first indo-Pakistan war in 1965, the riversides people walked from one end to other without paying toll.
However, the bridge is likely to be abandoned soon as it has already crossed the given time. The government is thinking to build a new bridge to keep the railway communication intact.
Bangladesh Railway is divided into two zones-east and west. The east zone’s head quarters are in Dhaka, while the west zone’s head quarters are in Rajshahi. The four divisions are Paksey, Lalmonirhat, Dhaka and Chittagong.

(The writer is a senior journalist).