The Padma Bridge Rail Link project, a 172-km railway link being built to connect capital Dhaka to Jashore in the country’s south-west, is on course to be completed in June 2024, according to project insiders.
Construction of the section from Dhaka to Bhanga is scheduled to be completed in August. Train services on the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga line through the Padma Multipurpose Bridge would commence by the end of this year, Project Director Afzal Hossain told UNB.
The Bangladesh Army's Engineering Corps is engaged in the almost Tk 40,000 crore project as the Construction Supervision Consultant.
The railway track panels (iron plates) and goods of the main bridge are being taken from the Mawa end of the Padma Bridge. Trucks, loaded with huge track panels, crossed the viaduct and ran over the stoneless railway line on the main bridge.
The railway line is being constructed in three parts (plus a 3km link being built between Dhaka and Gandaria): a 37km Gandaria-Mawa section, a 42km Mawa-Bhanga section, and an 87km Bhanga Junction-Jessore section. Some 43.2km of loops, siding and Y-connections brings the total track length to 215.2km.
On April 4, Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan crossed the Padma Bridge by train on a trial run.
"Our plan is to connect the rail link from Dhaka to Bhanga in September, which will be suitable for uninterrupted movement. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate it in September. The rail link project from Dhaka to Jashore will be launched by June 2024. If it can be connected from Dhaka to Bhanga, regular trains will be able to run through this part,” the railway minister told UNB.
Overall, 74 percent of the entire project has been completed. The important work of laying the railway line on the Mawa-Zajira section over the Padma Bridge has been completed, said the minister.
Construction of 13 major bridges in this segment has been finished, as has 30 percent of the railway station construction. The 83-km section is 93% complete. The 12-km road connection between Mawa and Dhaka is now complete. The Bhanga-Jashore portion has been completed to 93 percent, while the entire line from Dhaka to Jessore has been completed to 74 pt, the minister also said.
The plan is to procure 100 passenger coaches under this project. Of these, 45 coaches have arrived, while the rest are coming, Railway Minister Sujan said.
Project Director Afzal Hossain told UNB that the entire project of Padma Bridge rail link will be completed by June 2024. He said overall progress of the project so far is 75 percent. The work of laying the railway line on the main bridge of padma has already been completed. The installation of 11,140 sleepers for rail movement on the Padma Bridge is also complete.
“We have already completed 91 percent of the work from Mawa to Bhanga. The construction of the rail link is progressing rapidly.It will still take another three-four months to complete the ancillary work,
including the signalling system. Besides, since the train will leave from Dhaka, Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga will be started simultaneously,” he said.
According to the project information, 20 stations are being constructed on the line from Kamalapur to Jashore under the Padma Rail Connection Project. Of these, 14 stations will be new. The six old stations will be revamped to make them modern and up-to-date. Two new stations are being constructed in Keraniganj and Munshiganj.
Besides, the construction of Srinagar and Mawa stations in Munshiganj is almost complete. After Mawa station, Padma station is being built at Zajira in Shariatpur after crossing the Padma Bridge and then Shibchar station in Shariatpur.
The Padma Bridge was opened for vehicular movement on June 26 last year. On August 20, nearly two months after the inauguration of the Padma Bridge, the railway minister inaugurated the work of laying the railway line at the Zajira end of the main bridge of the Padma.
According to the project sources, the Padma Bridge rail link project was estimated to cost Tk 34,988.86 crore at the time of approval of the DPP in 2016. The term was set for December 2022. But in April 2019, the cost of the project was increased by Tk 4,269.27 crore and the cost was fixed at Tk 39,258.13 crore. The ECNEC meeting also approved the proposal to extend the project till June 2024.
China Exim Bank is financing the project on a G2G basis. Of this, China's Exim Bank will provide loan assistance of about Tk 21,000 crore.The final loan agreement was signed with China in April 2018. The remaining money, over Tk 18,000 crore would be spent from government funds. Construction of the project is being constructed by Chinese contractor CREC.
When asked whether the project cost will increase again, the railway minister said, “There is no possibility of increasing the project cost now. We can confirm it next year.”