It is heartening to note that the west zone of Bangladesh Railway (BR) has implemented more than 10 development projects involving around Tk 7,783.84 crore to infuse dynamism into railway transportation along with boosting quality of services. The west zone covers Rajshahi, Rangpur and Khulna divisions. Diversified infrastructural uplift works like construction of new railway line, station remodeling and launching of new trains on new routes have been implemented during the last 10 years. The zone has been operating 133 trains including 40 intercity ones on different routes at present. Forty-seven local or shuttle trains and 46 commuter or mail trains are operating on various routes.

The present government has attached due importance to the development of country’s railway system, which is one of the most important means of transportation in the country. The government has initiated a number of infrastructure projects, including railway across the country, since 2009 with a view to increasing trade, commerce, tourism and creating job opportunities.  A master plan has been devised for bringing all the 64 districts of the country under the railway network. Currently, railway facilities are available in 44 districts only.

Thousands of people travel by train in the country everyday. The existing Dhaka-Chattogram rail link runs for 320km through Tongi, Bhairab, Akhaura, Comilla and Feni, with journey times ranging from 7-10 hours. The high-speed train will run on a special track, cutting the travel distance by over a third to 200km. The project will be implemented under a government-to-government (G2G) agreement with China. The distance between Dhaka and Chattogram by rail is 321 km, but it would come down to 230 km after the construction of a new rail route, while the travel time will be something between 1.5 hours to 2 hours, with the high speed train moving as fast as 200 km per hour.

If all the divisional and district towns are brought under rail network it will ease communication system and play a vital role in the development of the country. Development of a country cannot be imagined without improving the communication network. It is expected that the relevant authorities will implement the projects in due time. There should be transparency and accountability in the works done.