Railway services between Dhaka and Narayanganj, which remained suspended for construction work of the Padma Rail link project, will resume from August 1, said Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan on Tuesday.
The minister came up with the remarks while talking to reporters after inspecting the development work of the railway line from Dhaka station to Narayanganj.
Nurul Islam said that the coordination with the Padma Bridge rail link project caused some delays in the dual gauge line's construction.
The minister said “The dual gauge single line is currently being upgraded to a double line one to expedite the overall project. The work on both projects is being carried out simultaneously to ensure swift progress.” He hoped that the dual gauge double line work would be completed within the scheduled timeframe by June of the following year. Furthermore, the railway minister said the Padma Bridge rail line will be completed by 2024.
Besides, the contactor of the Dhaka-Narayanganj railway dual gauge double line project withdrew themselves from the project due to various problems, he said, adding that, a revision of the project was approved by the ECNEC recently in this regard.
“We will start the work soon by offering fresh tender and hope to complete the work within the stipulated time,” he said.
He said that from Chashara to Narayanganj station, many vehicles travel through the city corporation road, so an underpass or overpass would be constructed at the railway crossing in this part. It took time to coordinate with the Narayanganj City Corporation which also caused the delay.
He said that a trial run of train movement from Kamalapur to Bhanga is expected to commence in the first week of September, followed by an official inauguration by the Prime Minister.
In addition to the Dhaka-Narayanganj route and the Padma Bridge project, the Minister also revealed plans for a major project from Khulna to Mongla and from Dohazari in Chattogram to Cox's Bazar.
Last year, Bangladesh Railway announced that the Dhaka-Narayanganj train services would be halted for 3 months starting from 4 December due to the work on the Padma Bridge rail line project over Narayanganj.
