Chattogram Bureau :
Bangladesh is going to enter the era of bullet train. The feasibility study of the project for Chattogram to Dhaka route has been almost completed.Design work is also in the final stages. If this high speed train service is started, it will be possible to reach Dhaka from Chattogram in just 55 minutes or one hour .The train will run at a maximum speed of 300 kmph and will carry about 50,000 passengers a day. For this, a passenger has to pay around Tk 2,000. According to the route map, there are a total of six stations on the proposed railway line. These are: Dhaka, Narayanganj, Comilla, Feni, Pahartali and Chattogram.This was disclosed to media by ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury MP , Chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on ministry of railways, that the launch of the bullet train would play a huge role not only in Dhaka’s communication with Chattogram , but also in global trade. Project stakeholders are working on how to get the job done faster, he added.
According to railway sources, the feasibility study of the project , which was approved in March 2016, has been completed. China Railway Design Corporation and Majumdar Enterprise of Bangladesh have jointly carried out the feasibility study. Work is currently underway to create a detailed design . The design of the project will be completed by January.
Subaktagin, chief engineer of Eastern Railway, told that representatives of China Railway Design Corporation will come to Bangladesh this month to finalize the design. The project will then go for ECNEC approval after determining the cost. Work will start after approval.
At present the distance of railways to Dhaka, Brahmanbaria, Comilla, Feni, Pahartali and Chattogram is 321 km. The Dhaka, Brahmanbaria and Comilla routes will not be used for high speed trains, the bullet train will reach Chattogram directly from Dhaka to Narayanganj and then via Comilla. In this case, the train will have to travel less than 94 kilometers.Project Director Kamrul Ahsan told the media that the design work of the project will be completed by January. Once the design is finalized, the cost will be ascertained .. If the bullet train is launched, the image of Chattogram-Dhaka communication system will change.
