Bangladesh Railway

Bangladesh Railway was mostly inherited from the British-established Assam Bengal railway system after the partition of India in 1947. Railway acts as an important method of mass transport in Bangladesh. Many districts of the country are connected via railroads.

Bangladesh Railway's headquarters are located in the southern port city of Chittagong, which had historically been the south-eastern terminus of the Assam-Bengal Railway. After independence from Pakistan in 1971, only a small length of additional new tracks were laid .

As of 2005, the total length of railroad is 2,706 km. [http://www.railway.gov.bd/Faq.html Bangladesh Railway Website FAQ] ] Of that, 923 km are broad gauge (1.676 meter) tracks (mostly in the western region), while the remaining 1,822 km are metre gauge tracks (mostly in the central and eastern regions). The gauge problem is being tackled by adding third rails to the most important broad and metre gauge routes, so that they become dual gauge.

A major road-rail bridge at Jamuna opened in 1998 to connect the previously isolated east and west rail networks.

As of March 2008, the broad gauge reached Dhaka the national capital, though only up to Dhaka Cantonment,DOHS Baridhara.

Funding is being sought to upgrade the network and transform Bangladesh Railway into a profitable business. [cite web| url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news_view/article/2007/10/7766/bangladesh_upgrade_loan.html | title=Bangladesh upgrade loan | publisher="Railway Gazette International" | date=2007-10-08 | ]

The border between India and Bangladesh cuts across rail lines, forcing them into the other country for short distances. This complicates border controls such as passport validation.

Railway links with adjacent countries

* India - yes. Bi-weekly passenger train service between Dhaka and Kolkata started in April 2008 using the Gede-Darsana route [cite web| url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news_view/article/2007/08/7648/bangladesh_india_order_reopens.html | title=Bangladesh - India border reopens | publisher="Railway Gazette International" | date=2007-08-05 | ] In addition there is freight train service from Singhabad in India to Rohanpur in Bangladesh, Petrapole to Benapole, Radhikapur to Birol and Mahisasan to Shahbazpur.
* Myanmar - no - not yet - 1000mm/1676mm gauge in Bangladesh and 1000mm in Myanmar.

Maps

* [http://www.railway.gov.bd/routemap.asp Rail route map]
* [http://sakai.jocv.net/pdf/rm_2001e.pdf Rail route map] - Does not show dual gauge or Jamuna bridge.
* [http://www.mapsofworld#.com/bangladesh/bangladesh-railnetwork-map.html]
* [http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/banglade.pdf UNJCL Map]

Cities served by rail

Train ferry

A train ferry goes from:

* Balashi Ghat to Bahadurabad Ghat [ [http://www.thedailystar.net/pf_story.php?nid=50807 Report in the Daily Star (2008-08-18)] ] .

Timeline

2007

* Sonadia, an island 7km west of Cox's Bazaar seems likely to be chosen as a deep water port. [ [http://www.bangladeshnews.com.bd/2007/03/13/sonadia-or-kutubdia-ideal-for-deep-seaport/ Sonadia or Kutubdia ideal for deep seaport ] ]

2006

* $430m plan to upgrade railways in Bangladesh [ [http://www.adb.org/media/Articles/2006/10775-Bangladesh-railway/ ADBank] ]

See also

* Transport in Bangladesh
* List of deep water ports

References