DHAKA: The dream of years has started driving towards the reality. People of Bangladesh’s southern region are eagerly observing their hopes to be materialized at last. The fruit of patience comes ten-folded as the under-construction bridge will have a railway track with vehicular communication.
The meeting with the technical in-charge of the construction firm China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) has come to its conclusive part. According to the meetings, the construction of connecting rail lines will start in March, 2016.
Bangladesh Railway (BR) director general (DG) Mohammad Amzad Hossen told banglanews Sunday morning that they want to march forward with the connection of the rail line simultaneously with the construction of the bridge itself.
Moreover, they are planning to complete this task within the given time, he added.
He said, “The work of railway connection will start next March. CREC has taken over this charge. The train service will kick off in 2018 on the very day of opening the Padma bridge”.
Railway ministry has included the construction of railway track connecting Dhaka to Jessore through Padma bridge in their master plan. Under this plan, the train will leave from Kamalapur of Dhaka through Gendaria it will cross 44-km through Munshiganj and 5 kilometers over Padma Bridge to Zajira, other side of the river.
“From Zajira to Bhanga of Faridpur track will be connected with a 31-km railroad,” he added.
According to him, on second phase of the construction, Bhanga will be connected to Jessore through Narail with a 79-km railway track.
“Kamalapur is already connected with Gendaria with a 5-km railway. Construction of 162-km of rail line will start from Gendaria.”
Depending upon the execution of this project, Dhaka will be connected with Faridpur through Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Shariyatpur and Madaripur.
Six new rail stations will also be built in Keraniganj, Nimtola, Srinagar, Mawa, Zajira and Shibchar.
CREC, Bridge Division and railway ministry had conducted many interdivisional meetings to coordinate the opening of rail line construction. Railway DG Amzad Hossain informed banglanews that the negotiation between the parties concerned of this project has almost done.
The meetings are at the conclusive end, he opined.
He further said, “The project of connecting Faridpur and Jessore will be on the next phase. The train service will start as soon as the line reaches Bhanga”.
According to him, it won’t take long to connect Bhanga and Mawa through Padma Bridge. “The connection from Mawa to Dhaka might take a little longer to be constructed but not more than six months.”
“Within three years, the task of Padma bridge will be completed. The execution of connecting rail lines will start in March 2016,” the DG hoped.
According to the project, the train service will start from Kamalapur railway station and it will go through Gendaria to cross four rivers – Buriganga, Dhalesshwari-1 and 2 and the main course of Dhaleswari.
The railroad from Mawa to Padma bridge will be a multistoried line. Passenger and freight trains will be able to cross the mighty river Padma.
A faster communication will be established between the capital and the southwest part of Bangladesh with the execution of Padma multipurpose bridge.
It will take only three hours to commute from Khulna to Dhaka; which will cut short about 100-km detour that the south-westerners are currently taking to reach the capital.
BDST: 1824 HRS, DEC 13, 2015
AIK/RR
** Trans-Asian Railway includes Padma Bridge
