Train services via Padma Bridge from June

Staff Reporter :
Train services between Dhaka and Faridpur’s Bhanga via the Padma Bridge will begin in June this year, while Dhaka-Jashore route by 2024.
The overall construction progress of the project completed 73 per cent, while the Dhaka-Bhanga section of the railway project has completed 88 per cent.
Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan told journalists after inspecting the progress of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project in the Dogachi area of Sreenagar upazila in Munshiganj district on Tuesday.
According to project sources, 169 km railway line is being constructed from Dhaka to Jashore under the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project at a cost of Tk 40,000 crore.
A Chinese firm named the China Railway Engineering Company (CREC) has been awarded the task as contractor to implement the construction project.
“We are hopeful to start train services from Dhaka to Faridpur’s Bhanga by June this year. Efforts are underway to meet that target as we have already completed 88 per cent construction work in this portion. Laying of the railway tracks of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project is progressing at a fast pace,” Nurul Islam Sujan said.
Now the railway construction work of 6.15 km in the Padma Bridge is going on, the Minister said adding that the construction work of 1.51 km of Jazira end and 0.60 km of Mawa end has been completed.
“Rail sleepers will be installed on the entire bridge by next March-April and hopefully the rail will run over the bridge in June,” the Railways Minister said.
He, however, said “Train movement between Kamlapur-Gandaria remains suspended to ensure a smooth working environment. Construction works on the Dhaka-Mawa part of the project now pose the biggest challenge for us.” He also told reporters that he is satisfied with the progress of the project and the pace it has been advancing in recent times.
The full length of the Padma Bridge rail link is about 169km from Dhaka to Jashore.
The work of the rail link project is divided into three parts, Nurul Islam Sujan said adding that these are Dhaka to Mawa, Mawa to Faridpur via Padma Bridge and Bhanga to Jashore.
“A total of 32 kilometers of railway line has been constructed from Jazira end of Padma Bridge to Bhanga. Out of this, the viaduct is 4 km and 28 km above the ground. Four kilometers of viaduct rail track has been prepared without stones, while 28 km has been built with stone,” he said. The cost of the project is estimated to be around Tk 39,247 crore, with the Bangladesh government financing about Tk18,000 crore and the Chinese government providing the rest.
Referring to the duration of the project till 2024, Nurul Islam Sujan said, ‘The progress of our construction work is satisfactory. We will be able to start the railway from Dhaka across the Padma bridge to Bhanga by June. Work is progressing according to the plan.”
He also said there is an old line from Faridpur to Bhanga and it will be connected up to Faridpur.
Apart from this, another project will be taken to construct a rail link to Kuakata via Payra port, he said adding that a survey has already been conducted in this regard.