For the first time, an experimental passenger train reached Bhanga Junction in Faridpur via Padma Bridge from Dhaka. Railway Minister Md. Nurul Islam Sujan including senior railway officials were the passenger of the experimental train.
The train broke down and reached the junction at 12.22pm on Thursday (September 7). The train took 2 hours and 10 minutes to cross this 82 km long railway track.
Earlier, the train left Dhaka railway station at Kamalapur at 10:07 am for Faridpur. At 11:26 am, the train boarded at Padma bridge. Then the train crossed the 6.15 km bridge at around 11:33.
Enamul Haque as loco master and MA Hossain as assistant loco master piloted this train for the first trial run. And Anwar Hossain managed the train as a guard. Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan observed as a passenger of the experimental train. Deputy Minister of Water Resources Enamul Haque Shamim, Awami League presidium member Shajahan Khan, Jatiya Sangsad Chief Whip Nur-e-Alam Chowdhury Liton, Railway Secretary Dr. Humayun Kabir, Director General of Bangladesh Railway. Kamrul Ahsan, Director of Padma Bridge Rail Link Project Afzal Hossain, Member of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Railways and other senior officials of Railways also traveled in the train.
Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan said that the Prime Minister has given a date for the inauguration of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project on October 10. The inauguration of this railway line will bring about a revolutionary change in the railway communication system. Southern people will have an easier life.
Bangladesh Railway is implementing the 169 km railway construction project from Dhaka to Jashore. Meanwhile, the overall progress of the project is 82 percent. However, 90 percent of the project from Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga via Padma Bridge has been completed. In this part, the entire work of laying the railway line up to Dhaka-Bhanga has been completed. So on September 7, the experimental train will run through Padma Bridge to Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga. On this day at 9 am, the train will leave from Kamalapur station via Padma bridge for Banga station in Faridpur.
According to railway sources, on May 4, 2016, the government approved the construction project of 172 km railway from Dhaka to Jashore via Padma Bridge. Apart from this, the construction of 43 km loop line (extra line before and after the station) along with the purchase of 100 modern passenger coaches for the launch of new trains was taken. So far 82 percent of the project has been completed. No railway crossing has been kept on this route for the purpose of running trains at a speed of 120 to 130 kmph. 20 modern stations are being built from Dhaka to Jashore including the previous 6. Initially, the cost is estimated at 34 thousand 989 crores. Later, the cost of the project increased to 39 thousand 247 crores.
Chinese contractor China Railway Engineering Group (CREC) is working on the project on a G2G (Government to Government) basis with Chinese funding. Exim Bank of China is lending 266 million 79 million dollars to implement the project. The Bangladesh government is spending the rest of the money. If everything goes well, the train will run to Jashore in June next year, the authorities said. By 2030, 13 pairs of trains will run daily on the Dhaka-Bhanga section, 7 pairs on the Bhanga-Kashiani section and 5 pairs on the Kashiani-Jashore section. During this period, it is estimated that it is possible to transport 40 lakh passengers per year on the Dhaka-Bhanga section, 1.7 lakh on the Bhanga-Kashiani section and 1.5 lakh on the Kashiani-Jashore section.