The government is going to introduce high-speed trains from Dhaka to Chittagong via Comilla and Laksam to reduce travel time by two hours from the existing six to seven hours on the country’s most important route, according to the Planning Commission and the railways ministry. The railways ministry has already submitted a project for a feasibility study to the commission for approval. According to the project profile, the ministry will conduct a feasibility study until December 2018 for the project. The project's estimated cost stands at around Tk. 109.57 crore.  
The project evaluation committee of the commission held a meeting on October 9 and gave some observations to change the details project plan (DPP). In October last year, Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh, Masato Watanabe, had said Japan would provide support for the construction of the proposed Dhaka-Chittagong railway line for high-speed trains. He also said Japan would like to help construct the line as it has expertise in operating such trains.
Officials involved in the plan said the cost of the main project would be around USD 4 billion, while five years would be required to complete the project.
According to sources, the project will need 3,000 acres, while 100MG of uninterrupted electricity will be required to operate 10 trains simultaneously at a speed of 200km per hour. There would be arrangements for transporting both passengers and goods on the proposed route, but passenger transportation would get priority, they said. To execute the plan, the government has given the task of conducting a feasibility study to the China Railway Engineering Group, which has recently submitted its preliminary report to the government. Railways ministry secretary Md Feroz Salah Uddin had made a PowerPoint presentation on the proposed Dhaka-Chittagong Express Railway project in presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence on October 8 last year. After watching the presentation, Hasina directed the railway ministry to introduce high-speed trains between Dhaka and Chittagong. As many as 80 per cent of the total number of passengers who travel on this route would be interested in this proposal. High-speed trains would considerably reduce both time and cost, and make the journey comfortable.
The sources said the express railway would establish an extensive inter-state communication system. Multidirectional rail links would be set up instead of a capital-centric unidirectional rail system. The travel cost will be lesser for the high-speed trains than air and bus routes.
At present, the railway line between Dhaka and Chittagong passes through Akhaurha in Brahmanbaria. But with the introduction of express line, the route could be shortened by around 90 km. If the project is implemented, high-speed trains would first go to Moynamati in Comilla via Fatullah of Narayanganj and Daudkandi and Mohanpur and then run in parallel with the existing Comilla-Chittagong rail line. On the proposed route, 110km new rail lines will have to be laid only up to Comilla from Dhaka through land acquisition, while the land of the existing rail line will be used for the remaining part. Railway officials said if diesel-electric traction locomotives run over standard gauge tracks, the speed of the new trains would be 160km per hour, but the speed would increase to 200kph if it runs entirely on electricity. They also said a number of Chinese companies has expressed eagerness to build the express railway. High-speed trains on this route would open up a new horizon in Bangladesh’s communication system, they added.