AFTER the independence of Bangladesh the railway has not been properly developed as a means of mass transport for the commuters of low income generating groups or a popular means of transport while in the world railway is the single most popular transport for long journeys and metro rail has replaced personal vehicles in urban society, even in India. Of the 3,975 kilometers long railway route that connects 44 districts, around 70 percent of the tracks are in bad shape and illegal level crossing encroachments and a poor signalling system have made the situation unbearable. The violence unleashed by BNP-Jamaat men before the 10th national elections also damaged the railway to the tune of over Tk 70 crore, Railway Minister Mujibul Huq told the parliament.
As Eid comes near, festive-makers consider the train journey safe and hassle-free and thus overwhelmingly demand ticket, necessitating repair in tracks and trains for the smooth journey of home-bound people. A National English daily on Thursday carried a news story which said derailments of two freight trains on Wednesday disrupted the country’s train communications for hours. On Wednesday morning a freight train carrying furnace oil derailed at Fauzderhat that disrupted railway communications between the port city and the rest of the country and in the following two hours two wagons of a Chittagong bound container train from Dhaka derailed at Baribari, Palash snapping connections between Dhaka and Chittagong as well as between Dhaka and Sylhet for six hours.
Train derailments usually occur in the country due to dilapidated tracks. BR officials said a lack of maintenance made the tracks risky for running trains. According to the BR Information Book 2013, at least 1,474 train derailments occurred in Bangladesh from July 2008 to June 2013. And derailments account for 91 percent of the train accidents in the country. The Railway Minister recently said that most of BR’s 3,975.86km track became dilapidated over the years causing the derailments. From July 2008 to June 2013 railway accidents claimed at least 140 lives, according to the BR Information Book.
The ailing railway system suffered most in 2012-13 when BNP-Jamaat men removed the fishplates of railway in several districts, torched train compartments and uprooted railway tracks across the country demanding elections under a caretaker government. Moreover, substandard quality of maintenance materials-slippers, clips, repairing trolleys, and a lack of vigilance team and the construction of illegal structures beside the railway tracks thwarted the sector.
Most of the country’s railway tracks were built during the British rule when trains were considered the safest transport. Locomasters and BR officials also blamed unauthorised railroad crossings and other structures along the lines built on railway land for most of the accidents. Many of the mileposts along rail tracks are also missing. Many of the railway stations are in decrepit condition, requiring urgent rebuilding and added manpower.
The country’s railway suffered most in the last couple of years for substandard maintenance; now we wish to get the railway as a smooth, speedy, and safe mode of transport to rocket the country’s development, and thus all-out preparations are required for the government to achieve this.
