Bangladesh Railway

BANGLADESH  RAILWAY

Railway operation in today’s Bangladesh began on November 15 in 1862 when 53.11 kilometers of 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) (broad gauge) line were opened for traffic between Darshona in Chuadanga and Jagotee in Kushtia. The next 14.98 kilometers 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 inches) (meter gauge) line was opened for traffic on January 4 in 1885.
In 1891, the construction of the Bengal Assam Railway was taken up by the British Government assistance but that was later on taken over by the Bengal Assam Railway Company.
On July 1 in 1895, two sections of meter gauge lines were opened between Chittagong and Comilla, a length of 149.89 kilometers, and between Laksam Upazila and Chandpur, a length of 50.89 kilometers. Railway Companies formed in England took up the construction and operation of these sections in the middle and late 19th centuries.

At the time of the partition of India in 1947, Bengal-Assam Railway was split up and the portion of the system, about 2,603.92 kilometers fell within the boundary of the then East Pakistan, and control remained with the central Government of Pakistan. Later with the effect from February 1 of 1961, Eastern Bengal Railway was renamed as Pakistan Eastern Railway. Then in 1962, the control of Pakistan Eastern Railway was transferred from the Central Government to the Government of East Pakistan and placed under the management of a Railway Board with the effect from the financial year 1962-63 by the presidential Order of June 9, 1962.
As of 2005, the total length of the railway is 2,855 kilometers. Of that, 660 km are broad gauge tracks (mostly in the western region), 1,830 km are meter gauge tracks (mostly in the central and eastern regions) and 365 km are dual gauge tracks. The gauge problem is being tackled by adding third rails to the most important broad and meter gauge routes so that they become dual gauges. A major railroad bridge on the River Jamuna was opened in 1998 to connect the previously detached east and west rail networks. In March 2008, the broad gauge reached Dhaka, the national capital. Funding is being sought to upgrade the network and transform Bangladesh Railway (BR) into an eight profitable business. BR exceeded its target revenue earnings in the fiscal year 2007-2008. 

After independence, the railway was first supervised by a Railway Board, which was abolished in 1982. Thereafter, the BR came under the jurisdiction of the Railway Division of the Ministry of Communications with the Secretary of the Division working as the Director-General of BR. In 1995, instead of being part of the Ministry, BR came under the control of a professional Director-General supervised by the Bangladesh Railway Authority that is chaired by the Minister of Communications.

BR is divided into two zones, East and West, each under the control of a general manager, who is accountable to the director-general of Bangladesh Railway. The two zones have their separate departments for operation, maintenance, and finances. Each zone is divided into two divisions that contain departments for Personnel, Transportation, Commercial, Finance, Mechanical, Way and Works Signalling and Telecommunication, Electrical, Medical, etc. Each zone also has its Workshop Divisions, located at Pahartali and Sa respectively. A locomotive workshop is located at Parbatipur in Dinajpur district for broad and meters g locomotives.

BR manages its own Railway Training Academy. A separate Directorate under the Ministry of Communications is charged to inspect different works of BR in relation to safety. From before the partition of India in 1947, the Bengal Railway (now Bangladesh Railway) was divided (and still maintained) into five divisions namely Paksey, Lalmonirhat, Dhaka, Bhairob Bazar, and Chittagong. 

Freight and cargo service:

The railway has been facing tough competition with other modes of transport for the high-rated traffic, which provides more revenue. As a national carrier, BR is obliged to carry essential commodities like food grains, fertilizer, jute, cement, coal, iron, steel, stone, and boulders, petroleum products, salt, sugar, etc. to the remote corners of the country at a cheap rate. Freight traffic during 2004-2005 was 3,206 thousand Metric Tons.

Bangladesh Railway transports containers from Chittagong to Dhaka. Converting some existing wagons initially created the special flat wagons required for container movement. Subsequently, 80 bogie container flats were procured from China and another 100 bogie container flats were procured from India. An Inland Container Depot has been opened in Dhaka with customs and port facilities for the clearance of container traffic. A dedicated (exclusive) container train was introduced on August 5 in 1991. Since then, the volume of container traffic has grown considerably.

History of the railway started in the world:

The railway started in the nineteenth century and started a massive revolution in the field of communication. In the groundbreaking efforts of George Stefanson, on 27 September 1825, the first railway in the world was opened to the public from Stockton, England, 26 miles away to Darlington. The railway was first inaugurated in the United States in 1833 from Mohawk to Hudson. It is first opened in Germany in 1835 in Nuremberg to Pure, Italy in 1839, France in 1844, Spain in 1848, and Sweden in 1856. With the introduction of the railway, British-ruled British was no longer backward than Europe and America. 

History of Railway Development In the mid-19th century, with the help of the British government, the idea of planning and planning in colonial Bengal was primarily in England. The main objective of such a plan was to consider the commercial interests of political, geographical, and strategic advantages. India's Viceroy Lord Dalhousie sent several proposals to start the construction of railways in India, to the Board of Directors of the East India Company. In 1844, R.M. Stephenson formed the East India Railway Company to construct a railway line from Howrah to West Bengal's coal-rich Raniganj town near Kolkata.

 But it takes a few years to get the necessary approval and make the deal with the government. In the meantime, in 1850, the Great Indian Peninsular Railway Company established a 33-km long railway line from Mumbai to the police station. The line was inaugurated on 16 April 1853. This was the first train journey in British India. The 38-km railway line was inaugurated in 1854 from Howrah to Hugli, built by the East India Railway Company, and the first railway line in Bengal was started.

History of Bangladesh Railway:

It was seriously considered in the British era to start the construction of the railway line between the geographical boundaries of present Bangladesh. In 1852, Colonel JP Kennedy proposed to set up a railway line on the eastern bank of the Ganges river through the Sundarbans. But in 1854 the British government occupied Burma (now Myanmar). The question of quick communication between Calcutta and the Burmese capital Rangoon is evident for political and strategic reasons to connect Burma directly to India. In 1855 Major Aba Krambi of the Engineering Corps of the British Army in field of the field presented a report by the survey. In this, the possibility of forming a company named Eastern Bengal Railway was mentioned. In the next two years, the project takes the form of specific plans under the supervision of veteran railway engineer Piston.

The Eastern Bengal Railway inaugurated the railway from Calcutta to Ranaghat on 29 September 1862. Increasing this line, on November 15, 1862, a 53.11 km broad gauge (1,676 mm) railway line was opened from Darshan to the world. At that time, Kushtia was a marginal station, but in 1867 it was shifted due to the Padma erosion, and the first Kushtia station was abandoned the next year. On the 1st of January 1871, a 75-km long railway line was inaugurated from Kushtia on the bank of Padma (under the junction of Padma and Jamuna) to Goalanda, the internal river pond.

Between 1874 and 1879, the British Government established a new 250 km meter gauge (1,000mm) railway track in the name of the North Bengal State Railway. The line extends from Silhamati to the left side of the Padma and extends up to Siliguri in the foothills of the Himalayas. This line has long been extended from Parbatipur to Kaunia and west to Parbatipur to Dinajpur. At the same time, the Eastern Bengal Railway added the broad gauge railway line from Damukdia to Baradhah located on the right side of the Padma in front of Sara. In this, the railway-controlled steamer has the advantage of crossing the river Padma. Without the obstruction of only the Padma river in the middle, the journey from Calcutta to Siliguri was straight. In 1884 the British government brought the Eastern Bengal Railway controlled by the British government on July 1, and its new name was named Eastern Bengal State Railway.

In order to meet the growing demand for jute all over the world, the need for improved communication is required to supply jute from major jute-producing areas of Dhaka and Mymensingh to Kolkata Port. In order to bring the raw jute to Calcutta in 1885, a 144 km meter gauge rail line was established from Mymensingh to Dhaka via Narayanganj. Gradually it was extended from Mymensingh to Jamalpur and Jagannathgunj Ghat and later Bahadurabad Ghat. For better management in 1887, the Northern Bengal Railway and the Narayangesh (762 mm) railway line from Kaunia (Dharla), including the Dhaka State Railway, was merged with Eastern Bengal Railway. For the same reason, the Bangla-Jessore-Khulna broad gauge railway line, known as the Central Railway between 1882-84 and from 1899 to 1990, from Phulchhari (Tasimukh Ghat) up to 94 km meter gauge line was introduced. These two lines were adapted with the Eastern Bengal State Railway in the year 1904 on 1st April and the same year on 1 July. In 1905, a 44 km meter gauge rail line was started between Kaunia and Bonnarparha. Thus, the railroad was expanded in the vast areas of Dhaka and Rajshahi divisions.

 The construction of the bridge over the Padma is necessary for direct communication between Calcutta and North Bengal and Assam. In the year 1914, the meter gauge line was transformed into a broad gauge line from around Saran to Shantahar on the implementation of the Hardinge Bridge project on the Padma. The main railroads from Calcutta to Delhi, Madras, and Mumbai were broad gauge size. On March 4, 1915, the two-lane Hardinge Bridge was inaugurated for the railway movement. In July 1924, 95 km from Shantahara to Parbatipur, and by September 1926, the 67 km railway line from Parbatipur to Chilahati was converted from meter gauge to broad gauge. As a result, goods supply and passenger movement from Siliguri to Chilahati in north Bengal and Kolkata, and other parts of India became possible without changing the vehicle. In 1915, the word 'State' was officially excluded from the name of the Eastern Bengal State Railway.

The construction of the bridge over the Padma is necessary for direct communication between Calcutta and North Bengal and Assam. In the year 1914, the meter gauge line was transformed into a broad gauge line from around Saran to Shantahar on the implementation of the Hardinge Bridge project on the Padma. The main railroads from Calcutta to Delhi, Madras, and Mumbai were broad gauge size. On March 4, 1915, the two-lane Hardinge Bridge was inaugurated for the railway movement. In July 1924, 95 km from Shantahara to Parbatipur, and by September 1926, the 67 km railway line from Parbatipur to Chilahati was converted from meter gauge to broad gauge. As a result, goods supply and passenger movement from Siliguri to Chilahati in north Bengal and Kolkata, and other parts of India became possible without changing the vehicle. In 1915, the word 'State' was officially excluded from the name of the Eastern Bengal State Railway.

The British Government introduces three types of gauge (width) railways, namely: Broad (1,767 mm), meters (1,000 mm), and Narrow (762 mm). A short-distance railway line was established to connect the nearest river ports or the main railway. The railroad was expanded to communicate with more potential areas. According to the need, the work of transformation of railway lines was also continued in order to make rail connectivity more coherent without a carriage. In the 1920s, 88 km of non-official railway lines operated by the Eastern Bengal Railway were nationalized from Mymensingh to Jagannathganj Ghat in order to improve railway management. The British government purchased the 80 km railway line from Ishwardi to Sirajganj in 1915-16 on 1 October 1944. The broad gauge line was opened in 1916 from Bheramara to Raatya. By June 1918, the Eastern Bengal Railway built the 32-km Bagerhat rail line from Rupsa (Khulna), but it was brought under government cover in 1948. By 1919, a total of 1,806.16 km of railways were constructed by the government and the company.

Private railway companies worked according to specific agreements. In relation to the terms of the agreement, the land, government help, profit, carry special duties, in addition to the rate of rent, such as letters, soldiers, police, government officers-employees or government money and transport of public goods. The meter gauge rail line was started from Bahadurabad to Jamalpur (Singhjani) in 1912. In 1928-29, the railway line of Teesta-Kaunia Narrogate was converted to a meter gauge. In the 1930s, broad gauge lines were constructed from Abdulpur to Amanura. A special purpose was to connect Mango and sugarcane and connect with North-west India from Central Bengal to Rohanpur. In view of the increased demand for transportation, in August 1897, two lines of a double lines were installed from Dasna to Barakah. Then the broad gauge line of two lanes was established in Bodhara-Bheramara (in 1909), Bheramara-Ishwardi (in 1915), and Ishwardi-Abdulpur (in 1932).

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