Vehicle movement has begun through the Padma Bridge. Now, the wait for train travel through the bridge has also begun. The railway authorities say that they are working towards starting train travel through the Padma Bridge in June of next year. In July of the same year, work will begin on installing the railway line on the bridge. Initially, trains will be operated from Dhaka to Bhanga in Faridpur district.
Construction work on the Padma Bridge and its two railway lines began in 2018. The project was initiated in 2016. Initially, the government had plans to start train travel on the same day as vehicle movement. However, the construction work on the railway line and other infrastructure is still lagging behind.
The government’s Bridge Division constructed the Padma Bridge, and the responsibility of ensuring train travel through the bridge falls on the railway authorities. With this goal in mind, a 169-kilometer long railway line is being built from Dhaka to Jessore via the Padma Bridge, and the construction of stations and other infrastructure is being carried out as a separate project by the railway. This project is being financed by China under the G-to-G (government to government) method.
This project has a deadline of June 2024. The estimated cost is 39,247 crore taka. According to the latest progress report of the project, as of May, the overall progress of the work is 60 percent.
The construction work of the 169-kilometer railway has been divided into three parts. The first part is from Gandaria in Dhaka to Mawa in Munshiganj. The second part is from Mawa to Bhanga, including the Padma Bridge. The last part covers the Bhanga to Jashore section.
According to the initial plan, the work from Mawa to Bhanga was supposed to be started first. Then, gradually, the work of the Dhaka-Mawa and Bhanga-Jashore sections would be completed. However, the plan has been changed now.
According to project sources, the goal is to start the railway line from Dhaka to the broken end of the Padma Bridge in June of next year. The distance of this route is 82 kilometers. The rail connection from Bheramara to Faridpur and Rajbari already exists. As a result, when the work on the railway line from Dhaka to Bheramara is completed, another alternative route will be established with the western region. Currently, trains from Dhaka to the western region travel via the Bangabandhu Bridge.
According to progress reports of the project, 60% of the work in the Maoa section from Dhaka has been completed, and 80% of the work in the Bheramara section from Maoa has been completed. 51% of the work from Bheramara to Jessore has been completed. Among them, a 11-kilometer railway line has been laid on both sides of the Padma Bridge. However, work on the section from Bheramara to Jessore may continue until 2025, which may increase the project cost, according to sources.
Project director Md. Afzalur Rahman said that some complications, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have delayed the project. However, work has now accelerated, and the goal is to operate trains from Dhaka to Bheramara in June of next year.
Benefits of this railway
Currently, there is railway connectivity in 43 districts of the country. The government has planned to expand railways to 64 districts by 2035. The Dhaka-Jashore Padma Rail Link project is crucial for the implementation of this plan because the entire Barisal division is outside the railway coverage area. The government wants to connect this division to the railway network from Payera to Bhanga. This task will be easier if the Dhaka-Jashore railway line is established.
Currently, there is railway connectivity in many districts of the western region of the country, including Khulna and Jashore. However, one has to travel to these areas through the Bangabandhu Bridge or Hardinge Bridge from Dhaka. The distance from Dhaka to Khulna is currently 381 kilometers. With the construction of the Padma Bridge railway line, this distance will be reduced by 212 kilometers. Currently, it takes 11 hours to travel from Dhaka to Khulna by the Antanagar train. However, with the railway line being built through the Padma Bridge, it will be possible to run high-speed trains, and thus it will be possible to reach Khulna-Jashore within four hours.
Despite being very close to the capital city, Dhaka, there is no rail service in Keraniganj district. Munshiganj, Shariatpur, Madaripur, and Narail districts also do not have railway connectivity. The Padma Bridge Rail Link project will connect these districts and upazilas.
The Bangabandhu Bridge can accommodate heavy freight trains, but their speed is limited. As a result, goods cannot be transported on trains to the Benapole Land Port. With the new railway line, distances will be reduced, and heavy freight train operations will increase. The new rail line also offers the possibility of operating double-decker freight trains on the Padma Bridge. The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to increase by 1% with the new rail infrastructure, according to the railway authorities.
Complexity due to errors in the design
Vehicles will travel over the Padma Bridge on the top deck while trains will run on the lower deck. The railway connection has been integrated into the ground instead of the main bridge structure. Although the railway track is below the road, it will pass over it. The height at the point where the railway and road cross has caused complications, resulting in higher costs and more time required.
For smooth transportation, there needs to be at least 5.7 meters of clearance alongside the railway track, and a width of 15 meters is also necessary. However, the railway authority kept the height and width lower than necessary when designing the bridge. As a result, the construction of the pillars and the substructure was affected, leading to issues with the bridge section.
According to railway sources, a decision has been made to modify the plan based on the opinions of experts from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. This involves breaking two of the four pillars and guards of the railway on either side of the bridge and adding piles to strengthen it. This will cost an additional approximately 540 million Bangladeshi taka.
The issue with the plan was identified in July 2020. Since then, there has been a dispute between the two organizations, with modifications to the plan and the need to dismantle and rebuild taking over four years.
According to project sources, work is set to be completed by May of next year in accordance with the contract with the contractor. The current contractor, China Railway Group, may need to extend the contract by at least two years. This could increase the cost as well.
The project director said that the project has been expanded, which could increase both time and cost.
Total cost of the project:
85% of the funding for the railway construction project is being provided by China. However, the condition is that China will only undertake one particular aspect of the project. The money from China can be obtained only after a certain assurance, and in 2016, China Railway Group (CRC) was contracted to execute the railway project. However, the loan agreement was signed in 2018, so the contractor could not perform any work for two years.
Initially, the estimated cost of the project was about 35 thousand crore taka, and it was supposed to be completed by 2022. Later, the cost increased to 39 thousand 247 crore taka, and the deadline extended to 2024.
According to the project sources, an additional 152 acres of land will be required to complete the project. In addition to this, there has been an expansion of the mixed gauge line from Dhaka to Gendaria, construction of a flyover at Komlapur Titiapara, and construction of an underground path in Narail and other station infrastructure works. This will require an additional 1,177 crore taka, which will increase the total cost to 40 thousand 424 crore taka.
