Bangladesh’s railway connectivity will receive a major breakthrough once the Bogra-Sirajganj route becomes operational. As per reports, the process of land acquisition for the rail project is expected to be completed soon.
The idea of building this rail line was first mooted in 2005, but it could not be executed due to the lack of funding.
The estimated cost of the project titled “Bogra-Sirajganj New Dual-Gauge Railway Construction” is Tk5, 580 crore, of which Tk3, 146 crore as loan from India and Tk 2,433 crore from the Bangladesh government.
The rail project was given priority in 2017 when India granted the third line of credit (LoC) to Bangladesh.
The Bogra-Sirajganj rail project, when completed, would establish a shorter dual-gauge link between the western and northern parts and eastern and southern regions of Bangladesh via the capital city Dhaka.
It will reduce rail travel distance with Dhaka by one-third, and facilitate trade, particularly that of agriculture.
The railway distance between Bogra and Dhaka is currently 324 km and takes eight-nine hours, which is expected to come down to 112 km, thereby saving travel time of around three hours once the rail link becomes functional.
The local business leaders are optimistic that the rail route will open new horizons of trade and commerce in the northern region of Bangladesh. Farmers will gain a lot as their products could be transported to other parts of the country quickly.
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The people of Bogra have long been demanding this railway line. It will directly benefit the people in the northern districts of Bogra, Sirajganj, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Rangpur and Lalmonirhat.
In one more instance of India assisting Bangladesh in broadening its railway connectivity, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina virtually inaugurated the Jaydevpur-Tongi segment of the Dhaka-Tongi-Jaydevpur rail route on February 9, 2023.
The rail project is being funded under an Indian LoC to Bangladesh. The 11 km dual-gauge double-line from Tongi to Jaydevpur will facilitate in enhancing the operational capacity of the Bangladesh Railway (BR) to operate more train service on this important railway route.
This section is used for travel from Dhaka to other parts of the country. The construction work of this project started in September 2018.
However, a number of projects initiated by the Bangladesh government under three Indian LOCs have been facing challenges retarding the progress of their execution.
The Bangladesh government’s Economic Relations Division (ERD) and implementing agencies hold that the requirement to obtain consent from the Indian authorities for every project under the LoC programme and approval at various stages have caused delays in project implementation and disbursement.
The ERD data shows that the Government of India ( GoI ) till February 2023 disbursed about 18.2% of the total $7.35 billion committed to Bangladesh under three LoCs in more than 12 years.
Reports say the Bangladesh government has sought $1.6 billion in additional funding to complete the infrastructure development projects. Accordingly, Bangladesh has proposed India to sign a new framework agreement to secure the funding required to cover cost overruns in some of the ongoing projects including Dhaka-Tongi-Jaydevpur rail line.
Under the proposed framework agreement, the ERD has sought the transfer of funding from slow-running projects or those that have been dropped from the LoC list to projects which are progressing well towards completion.
For example, the Indian firm, which was awarded the contract for the Kulaura-Shahbazpur rail project, is currently not working. Since no money is being spent on this project under the LoC, the ERD reasons that the fund of this project can be used for the Dhaka-Tongi-Jaydevpur rail project.
According to reports, the Dhaka-Tongi-Jaydevpur project was launched in 2012. The rail project, which was scheduled to be completed in three years, will now take 15 years to complete.
So far, about 65% of the construction has been completed, and the cost is being increased four times the original estimate. Similarly, the cost of the Kulaura-Shahbazpur rail project will increase again.
The project, which was started in June 2011, has been stopped after 25% of progress. In November 2017, the BR inked an agreement with an Indian firm for the restoration of the Shahbazpur railway route in the eastern district of Brahmanbaria from Kulaura in northeastern Maulabibazar district.
As per agreement, the construction work was supposed to complete in May 2020.
The ERD has noted that other slow-moving projects identified till February 2023 including Saidpur Railway Carriage Workshop Project ($375 million) may be shifted under the proposed framework agreement.
All the issues related to such infrastructure development projects will be addressed when an Indian technical team visits Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s former Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan in a meeting with the then High Commissioner of India at Dhaka on July 18, 2022, urged for extending the ongoing Bogra-Sirajganj rail line project built with Indian support up to Santahar to reap maximum benefit as the Bogra-Santahar line is still metre-gauge.
They also discussed modernisation of Benapole station, construction of inland container depot (ICD) at Sirajganj, a modern coach manufacturing factory at Saidpur and training for auxiliary locomotives of Bangladesh in India.
In another boost to Bangladesh’s physical infrastructure development on August 27, 2023, India’s Pristine Logistics and Infraprojects Limited and the neighbouring country’s Summit Alliance Port Limited signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up joint venture companies for developing rail-linked ICDs, Container Freight Stations (CFS) and Multi Modal Logistics Parks (MMLPs) at strategically important locations.
The initiative aims to enhance the logistics infrastructure and facilitate the landside needs of exporters and importers by providing long-haul rail services from Indian locations to the border and interiors in Bangladesh.
Several parcel and freight trains are currently transporting essential commodities and finished goods from India to Bangladesh through multiple cross-border points.
Railway is generally considered as efficient, economic and environment-friendly mode of transportation. Bangladesh’s existing railway network especially in the northern region is still deficient.
To address this issue, India is focusing on developing the railway infrastructure of this region of Bangladesh.
India’s financial and technical assistance cover many projects for developing Bangladesh’s railway infrastructure since this mode of transport has ripple effects on economic efficiency and returns.
India has also provided 20 broad-gauge diesel locomotives on grant and supplied railway rolling stocks to Bangladesh.
Some neighbouring countries including Bangladesh have shown interest in buying India’s indigenously developed semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express.
In one more positive development on November 11, 2023, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Hasina inaugurated the much awaited 102 km-long Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar dual-gauge railway line.
With this, Bangladesh’s most popular tourist destination Cox’s Bazar has been connected to the country’s railway network for the first time. As part of the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR), this rail route is expected to boost access to Myanmar and beyond.
Reports say Bangladesh has also evinced interest in importing high quality coaches from India to operate between Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar to boost tourism.
Moreover, Dhaka intends to purchase more locomotive engines and luggage vans under the LoCs offered by India.
In a move to augment the India-Bangladesh trade, the GoI has decided to allow imports of goods from the neighbouring country by rail in sealed container.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs of India has notified rules in this regard. At present, India uses its rail to only export goods to Bangladesh. Containers coming to Bangladesh from India return empty after delivering goods. Bangladeshi companies have expressed interest in using empty containers to export their products to India. According to the Export Promotion Bureau data, Bangladesh’s exports to India registered a 59% growth year-on-year in the July-April period of the fiscal year 2022-23 to $1.70 billion.
