Light Rail Transit in Dhaka

By Dr. Md. Masud Karim

Dainichi Consultant Inc., Gifu, Japan.
Bangladesh is a populous country and Dhaka, as the capital of
Bangladesh, has to accommodate a large share of this population.
There are 18 Special Planning Zones (SPZ) in the Dhaka Metropolitan
Area, where population has already crossed 10 million. With a rate of
increase of population at about 7% per year, Dhaka Metropolitan Area
is expected to become one of the largest cities within the early next
century. The city centre of Dhaka is located on the bank of the river
Buriganga. The city is growing at a rate of 4.5 km2 a year. As of 1992,
there are about 8567350 daily trips by different modes (walk, road, and
water transport) and 2397926 working places in 18 SPZs. The
contribution of Bangladesh Railways (BR) to urban public transport is
very small. The main inter city line entering the city from the north
carries a small share of commuter traffic. The line to Narayanganj
recently handed over to private management shows a greater efficiency
in carrying huge back and forth commuter traffic. Rehabilitation and
improvement of north main BR line and some new routes of rail transit
can accommodate the growing traffic demand in the near future. This
article is going to make discussions on the feasibility of Light Rail
Transit (LRT) network for Dhaka Metropolitan area. 

The Present Traffic System

The transportation system of Dhaka is predominantly road based where

non-motorized transportation (mainly rickshaw) has a substantial share.
Dhaka Metropolis has heterogeneous traffic flows, as of 1996 an
estimated 168,718 automobiles are on road. Rickshaws are the
dominating mode of public transport. Around 80% of total trips in
Dhaka City is comprised of non-motorized transport (NMT), only
5.9% trips are made by motorized transport (MT), and average trip
lengths of NMT and MT are 18 and 27 minutes, respectively (Karim,
et. al. 1998). Trips made by public transport especially buses are very
low, only 0.9%. A substantial part of total traffic is non-motorized
vehicles which enhance severe congestion especially in road
intersections. Among the total trips about 43% are made using
rickshaw and have been increasing continuously over the last 20 years.
The cost of transport represents about 10.8% of total household
incomes. 

In Dhaka Metropolitan Area, as of 1992 about 3094813 trips are made

by public transport daily. Of them, about 1636898 trips are made with
rickshaw, 251303 with auto-rickshaw, 69310 with auto-tempo, 2752
with existing rails, 284634 trips by water transport, and 693163 with
the buses. The number of passengers in public transport has been
increasing continuously over the last 20 years. However, there is a
clear difference in the share of public transport trips to the city
according to the corridor in question. The shares of public transport
trips are higher from the south than from the north. The main reason to
this is the socioeconomic status of the inhabitants of the areas. The
people in northern part of Dhaka have higher income and higher car
ownership than the people in southern part of Dhaka. 

The Problem

From the experience of other megacities, it can be said that road

network alone can not satisfy the need for transportation of such a large
city. However, the road network of Dhaka City is non-lane basis and
all transport modes (motorized and non-motorized) use the same lane.
Even at very small percentage of motorized vehicles (less than 5
motorized vehicle per 1000 people) the city dwellers are experiencing
severe congestion everywhere in the city in all the working hours.
There exist severe air and noise pollution caused by motor vehicles and
a very high accident rate. Overcrowding, air and noise pollution,
adequate nutrition, and other deficiencies in the physical environment
frequently represent the most obvious manifestations of environmental
health problems. However, there are less visible problems of the social
environment, which should also be identified such as: differentials in
mortality among urban residents from non-communicable diseases
such as heart disease and cancer are related to social rather than the
physical environment within the society. 

Besides being the capital of a highly populous country, Dhaka has a

major role to play in the era of regional and sub-regional cooperation,
which are being contemplated recently. However, the existing
transportation system may become bottleneck for the development of
the city. To maintain the economic viability of this City and to keep its
environment sustainable, an efficient transportation system is
imperative. 

Traditionally it was argued that transport exerted a strong positive

influence on economic development and that increased production
could be directly related to improved transport. Transport can release
working capital from one area, which can be used more productively as
fixed capital elsewhere (Button 1993). The inadequacy of transport
facilities is one of the major bottlenecks to socioeconomic
development of the major cities and a national integration. Often the
lack of transport makes it difficult to introduce other social
infrastructure such as education and medical service. Transport
investment forms a major component of the capital formation of the
developing countries and expenditure on transport is usually the largest
single item in the national budget. Up to 40 per cent of public
expenditure should be devoted to transport infrastructure investment
with substantial supplements coming from outside international
agencies such as the World Bank, UN, and other development aid
agencies. 

To cope with the problems of increasing transportation demand, traffic

congestion, deteriorating environmental quality, and inadequate traffic
safety measures Light Rail Transit can be a probable solution. LRT is a
modern and somewhat modified version of the traditional tramway. It
has been introduced in some developing cities on the ground that it can
offer a high capacity service with an appealing modern image, it is less
expensive than full subway system, and it is environmentally friendly.
Considering its potential, LRT may be proved a suitable solution to the
present transportation need of Dhaka City. The government of
Bangladesh is taking positive measures for commuter rail in Dhaka. It
is now a matter of gearing up on an agenda to a sustainable
transportation system for the next century. 

Dhaka's Traffic Pollution

In recent years, the frequency of environmental problems in

Bangladesh and other countries has increased substantially, causing
serious damage to lives and property. The most crucial questions that
need to be addressed are: what really causes the havoc-creating
environmental problems, the economic estimates of pollution effects
on society, the possible solution of air pollution, and the social and
infrastructure development to improve the quality of the city dwellers. 

In whole Bangladesh, the number of motor vehicles per 1000 people

rose from 1.4 in 1982 to 2.28 in 1991, and 2.72 in 1995 (BBS, 1995).
Nearly one third of motor vehicles are operated by diesel (truck, bus),
which contribute a greater portion of urban SPM, SOx, and NOx,
sometimes private cars are energized using a proportion of (3:2)
gasoline and diesel. Pollution severity occur due to the high content of
lead in gasoline, large number of high polluting vehicles, impure fuel,
inefficient landuse, and overall poor traffic management (Karim et al,
1997). Major issues are the heterogeneous flows of traffic and two
stroke engines moving in Dhaka's street which emit greater proportion
of black smoke. Another dominating factor of Dhaka's traffic pollution
is the number of auto-rickshaw and tempo. Their increase is most
remarkable in Dhaka where the proportion of such two-stroke vehicles
in the total vehicle population rose from 2.2% in 1982-83, to 18% in
1990-91 and as high as 23% in 1996-97 (Karim et al, 1997). It is not
 out of subject to mention here that the two-stroke engines (auto-
rickshaw) moving in Dhaka City are simple modified forms of an
Italian model of 1960's which emits 30 times more pollution than a
normal car (Karim, 1997). 

Conclusion

It is quite difficult to imagine that basic transport services can be

provided for a metropolis with 10 million people without reliable mass
transit system. Changes in transport technology, have over time,
exerted a strong influence upon the shapes and forms of the urban
areas. It is, at the same time, true that although transport demand
requires the development of rail mass transit system, financial
restraints normally rejects the option and sometimes economic reason
asks for better alternative solutions. 

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Railway appeared first in Britain in1825. It was introduced to the USA in 1833, to
Germany in 1835, Italy in 1839, France in 1844, Spain in 1848, Bengal in 1854 and
Sweden in 1856. Thus in the adoption of the railway technology which had
revolutionised the worldtransportation system, Bengal was not far behind Europe and
America.

The history of development The forerunner of the introduction of railway in Bengal was
RM Stephenson, a civil engineer, who first conceived the idea of establishing railway
tracts in Bengal and North India. He founded a company in London called the EAST
INDIAN RAILWAY in 1844. But it took him a few years to get necessary clearance and sign
a contract with the government. It was entirely a private initiative with government
participation in the form of land acquisition and a term of guaranteed profit to the
company for capital investment. The first railway track was constructed from Howrah to
Raniganj. Opened in 1854, its main objective was to carry coal from the Raniganj
collieries. Starting from Howrah, the East India Railway soon terminated in Delhi.

Construction of railways in the territory of today's Bangladesh was first conceived by a

military civil engineer, Col. JP Kennedy. In 1852, he proposed to construct a railway line
from Calcutta across the SUNDARBANS to the east bank of the GANGES and then to
DHAKA. The annexation of Burma to the Indian Empire in 1854 made the idea all the
more urgent from the political point of view. In 1855, Major Aber Crombie and Lt.
Gerald Head of the Bengal Engineers undertook a field survey and submitted a report
detailing the prospects of a new company proposed to be named the EASTERN BENGAL
RAILWAY. Detailed plans and estimates were prepared under the supervision of a senior
railway engineer named Mr. Purdon.

The Calcutta-Ranaghat
section of the Eastern Bengal
Railway was commissioned
on 29th September 1862. Its
continuation, the Darsana-
Jagati section, a distance of
53.11 km, was opened to
traffic on 15th November
1862 as a broad gauge (1676
mm) line.
Kamalapur Railway Station, Dhaka
Courtesy: Zahirul Islam Bhuiyan

This was the beginning of the history of railway in British-Bangladesh. KUSHTIA was the
terminal but in 1867 it was shifted to Gorai due to breach in the river PADMA and the
original Kushtia station was abandoned in the following year. The 75-km long railway
line from Kushtia to Goalanda, an inland river port on the bank of Padma (below the
confluence of Padma and JAMUNA), was opened on 1st January 1871.

A new 250-km long metre gauge (1000 mm) railway line known as the Northern Bengal
State Railway was constructed between 1874 and 1879 from Sara (on the left bank of
Padma) to Chilahati (extended up to Shiliguri of India, at the foot of the Himalayas). The
line branched off from PARBATIPUR to KAUNIA on the east and from Parbatipur to
DINAJPUR on the west. At the same time, an extension (1676 mm) of the Eastern Bengal
Railway from Poradaho to Damukdia (1676 mm), on the right bank of Padma, opposite
Sara branched off and extended eastward. Passengers crossed the river Padma by railway
operated steamer ferry. As a result, journey from Calcutta to Shiliguri became possible
without a break. On 1st July 1884 the British government took over the Eastern Bengal
Railway and renamed it as the Eastern Bengal State Railway.

In 1885, the 144-km long Narayanganj-Dhaka-Mymensingh metre gauge (1000 mm)

railway line was opened under the title of Dhaka State Railway mainly for carriage of
raw jute up to the inland port of NARAYANGANJ and then onwards by river to Calcutta. In
1887, to ensure better management, the Northern Bengal State Railway along with Dhaka
State Railway and the narrow gauge (762 mm) railway line from Kaunia to KURIGRAM
(Dharla) were amalgamated with the Eastern Bengal State Railway. For similar reasons,
the company-built broad gauge Bongaon-Jessore-Khulna railway opened in 1882-84
under the name of Bengal Central Railway and the 94-km metre gauge railway from
Santahar to Fulchhari (Tistamukhghat) opened during 1899 -1900 were also absorbed in
the Eastern Bengal State Railway on 1st April and 1st July 1904 respectively. The
extended 44 km Kaunia-Bonarpara metre gauge line was opened in 1905. The 80-km
long Ishwardi-Sirajganj section was commissioned in 1916. Thus railway network was
able to cover a substantial part of RAJSHAHI and Dhaka Divisions.

In order to provide a continuous link between Calcutta and North Bengal and Assam,
construction of a bridge over the river Padma was essential. With the imminent
completion of construction of the HARDINGE BRIDGE over Padma, the metre gauge section
from Sara to Santahar was converted to broad gauge in 1914. Main trunk railway lines
from Calcutta and beyond to Delhi, Madras and Bombay were of broad gauge standard.
Hardinge Bridge designed for double-lane broad gauge was opened on 4 March 1915 to
traffic. In July 1924, the 95-km long Santahar to Parbatipur section and by September
1926, the 67-km long Parbatipur to Chilahati section were converted from metre to broad
gauge.

As such direct movement

of goods and passengers
from the foot of the
Himalayas over North
Bengal to Calcutta and
beyond to other places of
India became possible
without any
transshipment. In 1915,
the word 'State' was
officially dropped from
the 'Eastern Bengal State Train on the Harding Bridge, Ishwardi,
Railway'. Pabna
Courtesy: Md Nurul Amin Khan

As a matter of principle, the British government adopted three types of railway gauges
(breadth). These were broad (1767 mm), metre (1000 mm) and narrow (762 mm),
depending upon involvement of capital cost and rate of return. Short distance railway
lines were constructed to connect with the nearest river port or to bridge the missing link
between main railway routes. Extension of railway lines was done to connect new
important areas. Where necessary, conversions were carried out to provide compatibility
of railway gauges in order to continue a journey without any transshipment.

In order to improve management, the 88-km long privately owned Mymensingh-

Jagannathganj line operated by Eastern Bengal Railway was acquired by the State in the
1920s. On 1 October 1944, the government also purchased the 80-km Ishwardi-Sirajganj
section which came into operation in 1915-16 as a private venture. In 1916, the
BHERAMARA-Raita line was opened as a standard broad gauge line. The 32-km Khulna-
Bagerhat narrow gauge line constructed by the Eastern Bengal Railway by June 1918 was
acquired by the State during 1948-49. By 1919, a total of 1806.16 km of lines owned by
the Company or the government was accessible to traffic.
All private railway companies operated under specific contracts containing provisions
about land, government aid, terms of profits, rates and fares, special obligations about
conveyance of postal mails, troops, police, government officials, government bullion and
coin, government stores, and power of the government to determine the contract.

The Tista-Kaunia narrow gauge line was converted to metre gauge in 1928-29. The
Bahadurabad-Singjhani (JAMALPUR town) metre gauge line was opened in 1912. The
Abdulpur-Amnura broad gauge branch line was opened in 1930 mainly to cater to the
need of MANGO and SUGARCANE transportation and to make a further link with the West
from Central Bengal via Rohanpur. In keeping with the growth of traffic, a double line
broad gauge track between Darsana and Poradaha was constructed in August 1897. It was
further extended by the Poradaha-Bheramra, Bheramara-Ishwardi, and Ishwardi-
Abdulpur broad gauge lines. These were doubled in 1909, 1915 and 1932 respectively.

In order to transport TEA from the Assam valley, Bengal Duars narrow gauge railway line
stretching northwards from Kaunia and circling around Kuchbihar of North Bengal by
1902 was amalgamated with the Eastern Bengal Railway in 1941. Its southern portion
now falls within the railway system of Bangladesh. The whole of Eastern Bengal Railway
was situated on the west side of the BRAHMAPUTRA, except for the Bahadurabad-Dhaka-
Narayanganj line. The Eastern Bengal railway catered to industrial and suburban areas of
Calcutta and as such the alignment of the railway track was Calcutta oriented.

The construction of the ASSAM BENGAL RAILWAY was started by the State in 1891 in
response to the demand of tea planters. Tea export at least cost necessitated the
development of the Chittagong port and link it to Assam Bengal Railway. On 1st July
1895, a 150-km metre gauge track between Chittagong and COMILLA along with a length
of 61-km between LAKSHAM and CHANDPUR were opened to traffic. In 1896 Comilla-
Akhaura-Kulaura-Shahbajpur section was commissioned.

Construction of the missing links between different railways continued. The Assam
Bengal Railway operated a private company venture, the Laksham-Noakhali branch line,
which was opened in 1903. The government purchased the line in 1905 and amalgamated
it with the Assam Bengal Railway on 1st January 1906. The Tongi branch line between
Tongi and AKHAURA was opened between 1910 and 1914, the SYLHET branch between
Sylhet and KULAURA between 1912 and 1915, the Shaistagang-Habigang branch in 1928,
the Shaistaganj-Balla and Feni-Belonia branches in 1929, the Chittagong-Sholoshahar
branch in 1929, Sholoshahar-Nazirhat line in 1930, and Sholoshahar- Dohazari line in
1931.

Mymensingh-Bhairab Bazar Railway Company constructed the railway sections of

Mymensing-Gouripur, Gouripur-Netrokona-Mohanganj, Shyamganj-Jaria Janjail, and
Gouripur-Bhairab Bazar between 1912 and 1918. These sections were acquired by the
State in 1948-49. The Assam Bengal Railway Company was in charge of the
management of the Mymensingh-Gouripur-Bhairab Bazar railway line. The Bridge over
river MEGHNA opened on 6 December 1937 enabling through communication between
Dhaka and Chittagong. On 1 January 1942, the Assam Bengal Railway was acquired by
the government and amalgamated with the Eastern Bengal Railway under the name of the
Bengal and Assam Railway.

After the PARTITION OF BENGAL in August 1947, the Bengal and Assam Railway was
split up between Pakistan and India. East Bengal (East Pakistan) inherited 2606.59 km of
railway line, which was named as the Eastern Bengal Railway (EBR). On 1 February
1961, it was renamed the Pakistan Eastern Railway. EBR received about 500-km broad
gauge and 2100-km metre gauge tracks, but no workshops to repair broad gauge
locomotives and rolling stock. East Pakistan, however, inherited a metre gauge workshop
at SAIDPUR. EBR suffered from operational draw-backs and physical impediments in the
movement of traffic such as missing railway links, discontinuous tracks and
transshipment points, shifting ghat stations on both banks of the Jamuna, and wagon ferry
services between the banks of Jamuna river with the perpetual problem of shifting rail
heads from season to season and also within the same season. Moreover, the entire
railway system faced severe stresses and strains during World War II. Damages were not
repaired till partition.

Soon after Partition, broad gauge loco repair facilities were installed at the Saidpur
Workshop. The missing broad gauge railway link of 69.23 km between Darsana and
JESSORE section was constructed quickly and it was opened on 21 April 1951. On 15
October 1954, the 33.8-km Sylhet-Chatak Bazar section was commissioned, mainly to
connect the sources of collection of boulders and stones required for building railway
tracks. From April 1970, a newly installed mono-rail ropeway started functioning over a
distance of 18.51 km from the river bed of Bholaganj to the rail head at Chatack Bazar
for transportation of stones and boulders. The mono-rail had a carrying capacity of 60
tons per hour. By May 1970, the narrow gauge Rupsa-Bagerhat section was converted to
broad gauge and was opened to traffic.

Bangladesh Railway After the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent country, the

name of the railway was changed to Bangladesh Railway. It inherited 2858.73 km of
tracks and 466 stations. The East Pakistan government had conducted feasibility studies
for expansion of railways in the 1960s and accordingly, construction of a double line and
various branch lines were initiated. The construction of double line track between Dhaka-
Tangi and Chittagong-Mirsharai started in 1960s. These lines were opened in phases
during the 1960s and 1970s. Under a realignment scheme, work on shifting the Dhaka
railway station from the congested Phulbaria area to Kamalapur was started in late 1950s.
The new station was opened to traffic on 1 May 1968. The station building is a marvel of
architecture having canopies of hyperbolic-paraboloid shell structures. The station started
providing container services with the establishment of the first inland container depot
(ICD) of the country on 11 April 1987.

The 23.6-km Ruhia-Panchagarh and 47.56-km Kurigram-Chilmari metre gauge sections

were opened on 1 July 1967. Newly constructed 46.69 km Narsingdi-Madanganj metre
gauge section was opened in January 1970. The section was not operationally profitable
because of the small volume of traffic and it had to be closed in 1977. For similar
reasons, Faridpur-Pukuria, Bheramara-Raita, Feni-Belonia, and Rupsa-Bagerhat sections
were also closed between 1994 and 1997.

Construction of the BANGABANDHU JAMUNA MULTIPURPOSE BRIDGE (4 lane road-cum-

single lane dual gauge rail and power interconnector, gas transmission line, and telephone
cables) was started in 1994. The bridge was opened to traffic on 23rd June 1998. In order
to make the gauges of the railway system compatible, a 115-km dual gauge track between
the east end of the bridge and Joydebpur is being constructed, and the 35-km metre gauge
track between Joydebpur and Dhaka is being converted to dual gauge. Consequently, the
245-km Parbatipur-Ishwardi-Jamtoil broad gauge track, which links the west end of the
bridge is also being converted to dual gauge. After bridging the Jamuna, Bangladesh
Railway has taken a pragmatic policy of adopting broad gauge as the official standard
over its entire railway system. Unification of the tracks will be implemented by taking up
gradual and systematic conversion of metre gauge track to broad gauge.

Management Built for the political, strategic and commercial considerations, the
railways in Bengal were under absolute British control as per specific terms and
conditions of contracts with the companies and government legislation passed from time
to time. The government control over railways was legislative, contractual, and
executive. Company directors exercised detailed control on overall working of the
railways. The first enactment on railway tariff made in British Parliament in 1854
covered the payment of fares before boarding trains, production of tickets on board while
demanded, penalty measures for fraudulent attempts, trespass and obstruction, handling
of luggage, and the liability of railways in the carriage of traffic. The acts were followed
by a series of supplementary laws enacted over the years regarding control, accidents,
trespass, inspection, protection of the public, and appointment of officers. The need for a
general Railway Act was long felt and in superceding all previous acts, the Indian
Railway Act IX of 1890 was adopted in British Parliament. The act was modified by the
Government of India Act 1935. Pakistan inherited its authority from the Indian
Independence Act 1947 and Bangladesh, after its independence in 1971.

Government control during the early British period was exercised through a military
board and later through Central Public Works Department, Local Governments, Railway
Directorate, and Railway Board, depending upon the needs of the time and the growth of
State Railways, and Company Railways and their interaction, coupled with the vested
interests of the colonial rulers. As such, there were a series of exercises of re-organisation
of the top hierarchy during the British-Indian and Pakistani periods.

After the liberation of Bangladesh, the organisational structure needed fundamental

changes. Accordingly, on the basis of the reports of the Railway Commission of 1973,
Martial Law Ordinance no. XLI of 1976, M.L.O. no 21 of 1982 and Government Order
of 1995, a series of changes were made in the top administrative management.
Bangladesh Railway continues to operate as a state owned organisation, financed and
managed by the government and placed under the Ministry of Communications. At
present, a Directorate of Railway consisting of specialised departments such as
Infrastructure, Rolling Stock, Marketing and Corporate Planning, Operation, and Finance
is headed by a Director General. Railway finances are merged with the general finances
of the country, the Safety Control wing of the railway works directly under the Secretary,
Ministry of Communications and the Audit wing is under the Comptroller and Auditor
general. From the operational point of view, Bangladesh Railway has been divided into
two separate zones, East and West, on either side of the river Jamuna. Each zone is
headed by a general manager, who is assisted by specialists of respective disciplines.

Track, bridges and land On 1 July 2000, Bangladesh Railway had 2,768 route km track
(broad gauge 936 km, metre gauge 553 km, including 15-km dual gauge, in West and
1279-km metre gauge in East zone), 395 major and 3,139 minor bridges, 455 stations,
1,522 level crossings and 60,633 acres of land. About 95% of the route kilometres is of
single lane track. Broad gauge main sections are laid with 90-lbs rails and metre gauge
sections with 75-lbs and 60-lbs rails.

Railway operation and safety In order to ensure safe and smooth operation of railways
and increase line capacity with provision of greater flexibility, proper signaling,
interlocking and telecommunications have been provided throughout the railway system.
To meet safety standards, trains are operated on absolute block working system. Modern
relay interlocking with tokenless block working and colour light signaling system was
provided in the important Dhaka-Chittagong section by mid-1960s. The fastest trains
cruise at 80 km per hour over the Dhaka-Chittagong metre gauge section. Relay
interlocking has been introduced between Mymensingh and Gauripur by 1977, at 6
stations in Mymensing-Jamalpur section in 1995-97 and at 3 major broad gauge stations
like Parbatipur, Santahar and Ishwardi in 1980-85.

In Parbatipur-Ishwardi-Khulna broad gauge section, trains move at a maximum speed of

95 km per hour. Other sections are worked on single or double wire lower/upper quadrant
mechanical signaling system. A few operate on one-engine-system only. The railway
maintains a relatively fair safety record compared to other modes of transport in
Bangladesh. The number of accidents during July 1999-June 2000 was 456, of which 6
due to collisions, 405 derailments, 1 due to fire, and 44 others. These accidents caused 35
deaths and injuries to 408 persons and the material damages were of an estimated Tk 4.55
million ($89000). To improve operational efficiency and safety, an optical fibre digital
telecommunication network has been installed over 1,800 km (out of the total 2,768 route
km railway line) connecting about 300 railway stations during 1985-90. The system has
30 drop-insert and multiplexing stations. As a means of check and balance, the
Government Inspector of Railways (GIR), the head of the safety wing, is charged with
the duties of inspecting all sections of railways to determine their fitness for the public
carriage of passengers, examine track, bridges, signaling systems and rolling stock,
inquire into causes of any accident and perform other related duties as imposed on him by
the Railway Act, 1890 and subsequent orders.

Rolling-stock The process of modernisation of rolling stock through replacement of the

steam locomotives by diesel ones started in 1953-54 with placement of 10 diesel-electric
locomotives. Towards the end of 1984-85, the entire steam locomotive fleet was declared
condemned and withdrawn from service. The railway now basically owns two types of
locomotives, viz diesel electric and diesel hydraulic. On 1 July 2000, the total fleet
comprised of 231 diesel electric (broad gauge 55 and metre gauge 176) and 37 diesel
hydraulic (broad gauge 11 and metre gauge 26) locomotives. The railway has 1,419
coaching vehicles, of which 1,282 (broad gauge 262 and metre gauge 1,120) are for
conveyance of passengers and the rest 137 (broad gauge 13 and metre gauge 124) for
carriage of luggage, parcels, mails etc. as well as for departmental use. Modern
technology of mid-on-generation system for train lighting has been introduced for
generation of electricity centrally and ensuring distribution of the same to respective
carriages. The railway possesses 10,929 freight wagons (broad gauge 2,347 and metre
gauge 8,582) including 220 units for container traffic for haulage of goods.

Railway workshops Bangladesh Railway has 6 workshops, 1 at Saidpur, 2 at Pahartali, 2

at Parbatipur, and 1 at Dhaka. The workshop at Saidpur is the largest and well equipped
for undertaking heavy repairs of carriages and wagons of both gauges and also for the
purposes of assembly cum construction of carriages and wagons, on a limited scale. Of
the 2 workshops at Pahartali, one is for repairs and assembly of metre gauge carriage and
wagons and the other is for repair of metre gauge diesel electric locomotives. For heavy
repair and maintenance of increased number of diesel locomotives, a Central Diesel
Workshop (Back Shop) was set up at Parbatipur in 1992. It has become the main
workshop for all major repairs and overhauls of locomotives. Modern methods of
management of stores and accounting have been introduced in this central diesel
workshop. The second workshop at Parbatipur is meant for normal repairs of broad gauge
diesel locomotives. The workshop at Dhaka is for normal repairs and maintenance of
metre gauge diesel locomotives.

Railway ferry services On 1 July 2000, Bangladesh Railway had 34 marine vessels
consisting of 3 passenger steamers, 5 tugs, 5 wagon ferry-barges, 6 pontoon ramps, and
15 flats, including 1 floating workshop.

Traffic With the development of road transport facilities, there has been a shift in the
trend of passenger traffic. Short distance passengers now prefer road transports because
of their point-to-point services. On average, 3.77 million passengers traveled in a year by
railway during July 1997 - June 2000. For the advantages of godown-to-godown,
personalised and comparatively quicker services, road services have the edge over
railway. As a result, railway has been facing tough competition for the high rated traffic,
which pays higher revenue. Because of lack of concentrated industrial areas or mining
fields, the carriage of agricultural and mainly imported goods through Chittagong port
becomes uni-directional and causes empty back-haulage of wagons.

On the other hand, the Bangladesh Railway as a national carrier has to fulfil its
obligations to carry essential commodities like food grains, fertilisers, jute, cement, coal,
iron and steel, stones and boulders, petroleum products, salt and sugar to remote corners
at cheap rates. Between July 1997 and June 2000, average freight traffic was 3.11 million
MT per year. Movements of wagons and cargo are monitored and tracked through
computerised wagon control system, a recent addition. Bangladesh Railway operates 235
passenger and 48 freight trains daily. Average lead of a passenger is 101.4 km and that of
a ton of freight 265.2 km. Major problems in operation of the Bangladesh Railway are
transshipment at break of gauge points and at riverine points and the frequent shifting of
ghats (on the banks of the river Jamuna) that affect free flow of traffic and lead to
frequent booking restrictions.

Finance Railway tariffs are not cost based and are rather dictated by the wider social and
economic interests of the country. The railway has to carry the burden of (a) public
service obligation costs such as operations of non-remunerative branch lines and
passenger ferries, uneconomic local passenger trains, almost free-of-charge carriage of
relief materials during natural calamities, and carriage of military traffic at less than
normal tariff; (b) social costs such as provision of medicare facilities, welfare services,
subsidised housing, education facilities to employees; (c) the expenditure of police forces
deployed on railway duties besides maintaining it's own railway security force. During
the last three financial years (July-June) of 1997-98 to 1999-2000, yearly average
operating income was Tk 3,555 million ($73 million), operating expenses Tk 4,548
million ($93 million causing a net operating loss of about $20 million per year. Since
1993, the government has paid Tk 1,012 million ($20.8) on average per year as
compensatory cost to Bangladesh Railway for public service.

Employment As a state agency, Bangladesh Railway is the largest single employer in the
country. Up to the end of June 2000, it had 37,439 regular employees, of whom 495 were
officers (class I & class II categories) and 36,944 staff of different categories of class III
and class IV. All railway officers and operational staff are imparted requisite training in
the Railway Training Academy at Chittagong to improve their skills. Cost of employees
per year amounts to about Tk 2,190 million, which is 48% of the total operating
expenses. The railway administration reduced about 10,000 employees through 'golden
handshake' (one time package benefit) programme in 1993-94. The programme still
continues mainly as a process of retirement by natural attrition. At present, fresh
recruitment is only selective.

Railway Workers' Associations The Employers' and Workmen's (Dispute) Acts were
enacted before 1860, but these acts protected the interests of the employers rather than
those of the employees. Later, some provisions were repealed in 1925 and 1932. Trade
unions did not exist in the railway sector till the end of World War I. Eastern Bengal
Railway Indian Employees' Association was formed in 1921 with a membership of about
1,100. It had its head office at LALMONIRHAT, the headquarters of a 'railway district'. The
administration welcomed the activities of the association, but in 1924, after a virulent
attack on the administration, the latter suspended its recognition. The suspension,
however, was withdrawn very soon. District Welfare Committees were formed in the
Eastern Bengal Railway in 1922. In 1921 employees of the Assam Bengal Railway called
a strike to show solidarity with the tea garden workers of Assam struggling for their
rights. The incident paved the way for professional politicians to associate themselves
directly with the railway workers.

The Trade Union Act 1926 allowed trade unions of a given organisation to accept persons
from outside the organisation as their members although the limit was up to 50 per cent
of the total membership roll. Veteran political leaders like Sher-e-Bangla AK FAZLUL HUQ
and Moulana ABDUL HAMID KHAN BHASANI were involved in the railway trade union
movement during the British and Pakistan periods. The Trade Disputes Act of 1929,
amended in 1932, provided for ad-hoc establishment of courts and dispute settlement
boards but prohibited strikes and lockouts in railways without 14 days' notice. The act
was further amended and relaxed in 1938. In 1942, the central government promulgated
Rule 81-A to impose controls on strikes and lockouts. The Industrial Disputes Act 1947
repealed the Act of 1929 but retained the provision that strikes were illegal and accorded
statutory recognition to the 'Work Committees' consisting of representatives of the
administration and the employees.

The new act had the provision for appointment of Industrial Tribunals consisting of one
or more members possessing qualifications equivalent to that of a judge. The act was
further amended in 1959 to establish a permanent industrial court. In 1952 and 1953, new
rules were framed enabling Work Committees to act as local bodies for the promotion of
welfare and creating better understanding between the administration and the employees.
The Trade Union (Amendment) Ordinance of 1960 conceded for the first time the
principle of compulsory recognition of trade unions and laid down the conditions for such
recognition.

One of the early achievements of the railway workers' trade union movement included
grouping of employees in different categories for proper allocation of duties in the
situation that the railway employees are to work in round the clock. The British
government also fixed maximum working hours allotted and a weekly rest day for
employees. The government also adopted in 1919 the Washington Convention for 8 hour-
daily and 48 hour-weekly work period and in 1921 the Geneva Convention for the
weekly rest period. Accordingly, in 1930, an Act was passed in the British Parliament
and adopted in the Indian Railways in 1931. Eastern Bengal Railway followed suit in
1932. The Payment of Wages Act 1936 provided for payment of wages within a specified
period. Safety of workers was ensured through the Railways Act 1890 and Factories Act
1891 followed by a series of other acts like the Workmen's Compensation Act 1923.
General rules were framed in the light of the Railway Act 1890. Achievements of the
trade union activities also included establishment of hospitals, canteens, co-operative
stores, a co-operative housing society, a welfare trust, credit societies, and clubs for
railway employees, and facilities like schools, play grounds and scouting for their
dependents.

Under British rule in India, the British and Anglo-Indian employees enjoyed preferential
treatment while Muslim employees languished. In 1943, the All India Muslim Railway
Employees League was formed in Calcutta. After the partition of India, East Pakistan
Railway Employees' League was formed in December 1947. Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul
Huq was its president. This was followed by formation of trade union bodies like the
Pakistan Railway Workers' League and East Pakistan Railway Employees Association
which was recognised through a Railway Gazette on 1st July 1948. The Accounts
Employees League was also set up during that time. The Eastern Bengal Railway
Medical Employees Association was formed in January 1953. After independence, The
Bangladesh Railway Sramic (workers) Union was formed in March 1972, The
Bangladesh Sramic League in April 1972, and the Bangladesh Railway Employees
League in November 1974. At present, there are eight registered trade unions in the
Bangladesh Railway.

Recent developments in the railway sector The share of the railway sector in passenger
traffic has declined from 50% in the 1960s to 12% in 1990s and in freight traffic over the
same period from 40% to 7%. Reforms in the railways including gradual privatisation of
commercial services are expected to bring some marginal improvement and make it self-
sustainable. The reform programmes expected to be undertaken in future include, among
others, introduction of modern sustainable technology, construction of new tracks,
reduction in the number of employees, closure of the branch lines that incur operational
losses, and optimum use of the land under possession of railway authorities. The
government is planning to introduce railway oriented mass transit system in Dhaka and
Chittagong

The Bangladesh Railway is now operating day-to-day cross-border railway traffic with
India and occasionally, with Nepal via India. The railway route of the southern corridor
of the ESCAP-aided Trans-Asian Railway will pass through Bangladesh connecting India
and Myanmar and will act as a link between South Asia and South-East Asian countries,
extending facilities for transcontinental movement of container traffic, valued goods, and
promotion of tourism. The Trans-Asian Railway will also have other extended and
regional routes and will have a direct impact on the economy of Bangladesh. [Quazi Abul
Fida]