Tk84,000cr elevated rail link planned to cut Dhaka-Ctg distance by 80km

The government has proposed an 81-kilometre fully elevated railway line from Shyampur in Dhaka to Cumilla at an estimated cost of around Tk83,901 crore, aiming to shorten the rail distance between Dhaka and Chattogram by 80 kilometres and reduce travel time by 1.5 to two hours.
Information and Broadcasting Adviser Dr Zahed Ur Rahman on Tuesday shared the development while addressing a weekly press conference at his secretariat office in Dhaka.
It will take four years to implement the project once land acquisition is completed, Zahed said, adding that the highest level of government will take the final decision on whether the proposed railway line will be entirely elevated.
The Ministry of Railways has initially proposed the construction of an elevated railway on the Dhaka-Chattogram route, and a proposal to this effect was presented to the ministry on 5 October, he said.
Constructing the entire railway on an elevated structure will save approximately 322 acres of land, he said, adding that had the railway been built using a combination of earthen embankments and elevated structures, the cost would have been around Tk73,577 crore.
Besides, opting for a fully elevated route entails an additional cost of approximately Tk10,324 crore, said the adviser.
It will be possible to operate electric trains on the route in the future, and its double-track broad-gauge railway line will be capable of handling a 25-tonne axle load, he said.
The design speed of the line is fixed at 160 km per hour, while the maximum operational speed is set at 140 km per hour, Zahed said.

Meanwhile, Zahed ruled out any possibility of reconciliation with the Awami League, whose activities are currently banned, saying that the party is engaged in acts of violence at home and abroad.
He also blamed the party men for attempting to harass Dr Muhammad Yunus abroad and for provoking unrest at home without apologising for the alleged genocide and crimes against humanity.
Referring to the harassment of Muhammad Yunus at New York’s JFK Airport, he said the Awami League men had yet to express any remorse for the mass killings in the country.
On the contrary, he said, they remain engaged in harassing Dr Yunus, other responsible government officials and an actress on foreign soil, while also attempting to incite violence at home.
Replying to another query, the adviser said the matter of whether there was any lapse of security on the part of the Bangladesh Embassy would be seriously investigated.
Legal actions have already been initiated against those who harassed actress Badhon, and the same course of action would be taken in Dr Yunus's case, he said.
“I want to tell the Awami terrorists located in various places abroad that if they attempt such actions again, it will not go unchallenged,” he said.
Dr Zahed said the question of whether reconciliation might be possible if some members of the Awami League apologise is entirely hypothetical.
“This is because, even after committing a heinous crime like genocide, the government has a record of its various misdeeds, terrorist activities and attempts to incite nationwide unrest through audio messages over the past two years,” he said.
“Under these circumstances, it is out of the question to hold talks or reach a consensus with them,” he said.
Regarding the repatriation of Sheikh Hasina from India, the adviser clearly said that the government is pursuing the legal process to formally bring her back home to ensure justice.

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