Test operation of railway bridge over Jamuna River in November

The construction work of the railway bridge over the Jamuna River is now at final stage and the authorities are planning to go for a test operation of the bridge in middle of November this year.

“Over 96 per cent of construction work of the bridge has already been completed. We are planning to go for test operation in the middle of November with a target to open the 4.8km long bridge for formal operation in December this year,” said Project Director of Railway Bridge Al Fattah Md Masudur Rahman told BSS on Wednesday.

He said the double-line dual gauge bridge, which would be the largest dedicated rail bridge in the country, is being constructed under two packages—WD-1 and WD-2.

“The estimated total construction cost of the bridge was Tk 16,780.95 crore, of which Tk 13,000 crore was earmarked for the construction of the main bridge while over Tk3000 crore for other related work,” said Rahman.

According to the project details, the main construction work has been completed and finishing work under the package WD-2 is going on.

With the construction of the dedicated railway bridge, the country’s economic activities are expected to get a huge boost as experts said the railway bridge is expected to reduce the pressure on the Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge and the highway along with the reduction of import and export costs.

At the same time, the transportation of agricultural goods from the northern region will be easier and the cost of transportation of goods will be reduced, which will bring positive impacts on the economic sector as well as the social life of the region.

The dual-gauge double-track bridge, having a gas pipeline facility, is being built some 300 metres upstream of the Jamuna Bridge, which has a single rail line.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has funded 72 per cent of the total cost as soft loans. Two Japanese joint-venture firms are carrying out the main work of the project taken in 2016.

In December 2016, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the bridge project at a cost of Tk 9,734 crore and the project was scheduled to be completed within December 2023.

The physical work of the project was started in August 2020 and the foundation work of the bridge in March 2021.

“The rail bridge will ensure smooth railway communication between the both sides of the River Jamuna. Once the bridge is completed, the dedicated railway will connect the northern region with the rest of the country,” said the Project Director.

He said the railway bridge would also have a positive impact on the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.

According to project officials, the railway bridge would improve the capacity of Bangladesh Railway (BR) to operate more trains between the capital and the western part of the country. It would also help reduce train delays.

He said the new rail bridge will have the capacity to operate 88 trains daily, while a maximum of 22 trains could travel smoothly on single-line dual gauge Jamuna Bridge a day.