57km dual gauge rail lines on the cards

With a view to increasing economic activities with the neighbouring countries, the government is planning to construct 57 kilometres of dual gauge rail networks from Panchagarh to Banglabandha in Tetulia upazila to establish direct rail connectivity with India, Nepal, and Bhutan.

The railways ministry had sent a development project proposal (DPP) to the Planning Commission in this regard seeking the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council’s approval, a senior official of the planning ministry told The Business Post.

The project cost is estimated at Tk 3,753 crore. Of this, Tk 1,313.58 crore will come from the government exchequer while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will give Tk 2,440 crore. Bangladesh Railway will implement the project from July this year to June 2026.

A railways ministry official said the ministry had discussed the project’s funding with the ADB.

“Besides, if any other development partners are interested in providing loans with easy conditions for the project, we will also accept that,” he said.

Once implemented, the project would help increase trade to boost the country’s economy, he added.

According to the DPP, the new route will take a maximum of 30 minutes to reach India, and 1-1.5 hours to Nepal and Bhutan.

That is why the Bangladesh government is taking the initiative to establish direct rail links with India, China, Nepal, and Bhutan.

The distance from the Banglabandha land port to India, Nepal, and Bhutan is very short. The Indian border is within a few hundred yards from Banglabandha.

On the other hand, the distance from the port to Nepal is 61 kilometres, Bhutan 68 kilometres, and China 200 kilometres.

That is why the port could easily establish connectivity with the four friendly neighbouring countries, the DPP said.

The existing Dhaka-Panchagarh route carried 17,842 passengers per day in 2020. The amount of goods imported that year via the Banglabandha port was 17.96 lakh tonnes and that of products exported was 42,632 tonnes while earnings were Tk 3.15 crore, according to the DPP.

The proposed Panchagarh-Banglabandha route carried 4,704 passengers and 3,249 tonnes of goods daily in 2020. In 2055, the number of daily passengers on the route will be 15,789 and the amount of freight will be 5,149 tonnes.

The government is giving the new route special importance considering the economic reasons, the DPP added.