A South Korean consortium has started the feasibility study to assess whether it would invest in the development of a circular railway around capital Dhaka, under a public-private partnership (PPP) initiative. Bangladesh, following many South Asian cities, especially Kolkata, has taken the decision on the circular rail route to be implemented in the near future. Apart from technical and financial studies, the consortium would prepare a step-by-step plan on how to progress with the massive development project. Officials say the feasibility study started in October and will take nine months to complete. The initiative has come in the wake of a Bangladesh Railway (BR) feasibility study for building the circular railway to ease traffic congestion on city roads. According to the study, the project will take six years to complete and its estimated cost will be $8.37 billion (more than Tk 70,000 crore).
It is expected that the proposed circular rail network will greatly address the city’s traffic woes that cause an annual estimated loss between Tk 20,000 crore and Tk 55,000 crore to the economy. According to city planners and transport experts, effectiveness of the project will depend on many factors, including integrated services, appropriate management and proper coordination between different agencies involved. otherwise such an ambitious project would likely face serious problems. Notably capital Dhaka had seen the introduction of a circular waterway using water-bus trips along Buriganga and Turag, Sitalakhya and Balu rivers. Introduced with high hopes, water transport authorities had expected the circular waterway to become popular. But due to lack of the rivers’ navigability, except during monsoon, plying of water-buses was disrupted and passengers turned away from the circular water route.
The proposed circular railway project, if properly implemented, could potentially make a huge difference to people’s mobility in and around Dhaka City. The 80.89-kilometre route is to cover Bishwa Ijtema Ground-Uttara-Dhaka Zoo-Gabtoli- Mohammadpur-Sadarghat-Postagola-Fatullah-Chashara-Adamjee-Demra-Trimohini-Purbachal-Tongi. By allowing workers and traders from neighbouring districts like Gazipur, Manikganj, Munshiganj, Narayanganj, Narsingdi and Tangail to go from one end of the capital to another without having to enter the city, it could potentially be a game-changer in terms of saving people’s time and lowering travel costs. It must be noted that the effectiveness of the proposed circular railway will depend on efficient management. However, given the previous history of BR, one is unsure of its ability to operate the circular rail network efficiently. So the onus is on BR to dispel such misgivings.
