Proposed Budget: No concrete plan on rail network

Efforts to improve rail networks across the country, a core demand of the people, appearrhetoric rather than realistic in the proposed budget as no concrete plan or priority was set.

Like previous years, names of some projects have been featured prominently in finance minister's budget speech about the rail sector.

What AMA Muhith said was surely encouraging for development of the rail sector, but his proposed budget hardly offers any plan or vision to improve rail networks except increasing the allocation. The railways ministry saw allocation 29 percent higher than the previous year's.

A 20-year Railway Master Plan was formulated in 2013 under which 235 projects were taken. Implementation of which would require Tk 2.33 lakh crore.

However, allocation of Tk 16,013 crore proposed for the railways ministry does not match with the master plan at any cost.

This allocation was about Tk 12,000 crore in last fiscal year.

Although allocation for railway's development has increased, execution of the projects taken years ago is slow due to inadequate funding.

Muhith mentioned some progress in the rail sector, which includes transformation of 20.6km metre gauge line into dual gauge line, reconstruction of 21km railways, construction of 41 new rail bridges, procurement of 151 new passenger coaches, restoration of 59 passenger coaches and introduction of six new trains.

Insiders say most of the progress was made as part of the Indian Dollar Credit initiative. The Indian dollar credit fund is being spent on buying railway engines, coaches and wagons, but the project for expansion of rail networks has failed to see any headway, they add.

Of the rail projects, double-lining of Dhaka-Chittagong railway track has seen much progress, but rail communications would not begin through the Padma bridge when it would be openedfor the public next year as the Padma Rail Link project saw hardly any progress in last one year.

The authorities are struggling hard to manage finance for this mega project even though Muhith claimed they had taken up a plan to construct 169-kilometre railway track from Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga-Narail to Jessore in order to launch railway service over the Padma from the day of the bridge's inauguration.

According to the railways officials, his claimis unrealistic.

Works of Dohazari-Cox's Bazar-Gundum, Kalukhali-Bhatiyapara-Gopalganj-Tungipara, Pachuria-Faridpur-Bhanga, Ishwardi-Pabna-Dhalarchar and Khulna-Mongla railway lines are going on slowly. This means people will have to wait several more years to get the benefits.

Without outlining any plan about implementation of these projects, Muhith spoke about new initiatives--a feasibility study to construct a railway line from Bhanga in Faridpur to Payra Port through Barisal and procurement of 100 MG locomotives, and 550 MG and 150 BG passenger coaches for development of rolling stock system.

Railways officials say these will remain rhetoric as implementation of all these new initiatives would need manifold allocation, much higher than that of the proposed allocation, a clear vision and finally capacity and efficiency of the authorities concerned.