The government has taken a massive move to upgrade the country’s railway network as the sector is considered as the safest, comfortable, affordable and environment-friendly means for transporting passengers and goods.    According to an official document, considering the importance of the railway sector the government wants to implement several projects “to ensure a balanced and integrated development”.   All these activities will be done under the 8th Five Year Plan (2021-2025), which targets to achieve 8.51 percent GDP growth with yearly 8 percent growth on average in the next five years. The plan also envisages reducing the poverty rate to 15.6 percent at the end of the deadline.   Under the 8th Five-Year Plan, comprehensive steps will be taken for construction of 798.09 km new railway lines, 897 km of dual gauge/double railway lines parallel to existing railway lines and renovation of 846.51 km of railway network.   It also includes construction of nine important railway bridges and other infrastructural development schemes including level crossing gates, construction of domestic container depos, building and modernisation of repair and maintenance outlets.   The document says that under the 8th Five-Year Plan there will be procurement of 160 locomotives, 1,704 passenger coaches, modern maintenance equipment, improvement of signaling system at 222 stations and strengthening of railway management.   Read: Bangladesh, India sign consultancy contracts for two railway projects   Meanwhile, the government is implementing the 30-year revised Master Plan (2016-2045) of the Bangladesh Railway.   According to the plan, steps have been taken for connecting Dhaka with Cox’s Bazar, Mongla Seaport, Tungipara, Barishal, Chattogram Hill Tracts and other parts of the country under the railway network.    The initiatives included in the plan are: establishing Trans-Asian Railway and Regional Railway Network and connecting important cities with nearest suburbs by introducing modern commuter train service.   The Trans-Asian Railway network, which was initiated in the 1960s, comprises 114,000 km of rail routes of international importance. It aims to offer efficient rail transport services for goods and passengers within the ESCAP (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) region and between Asia and Europe.   Under this master plan, 230 projects will be implemented in 6 phases at a cost of Tk. 5,50,000 crore.   The document said that the overall progress of Padma Multipurpose Rail Link Project is 58 percent while the overall progress of construction work of the double track dual gauge railway bridge on the river Jamuna is 40 percent.    It also says 71 percent construction work of the single line dual gauge track from Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar via Ramu and from Ramu to Gundum, near Myanmar border, has been completed.    In addition, approximately 90 percent work of the Khulna-Mongla railway project has been completed.    Read: Dhaka, New Delhi discuss boosting cooperation in railways   Construction work of Rupsha Rail Bridge is nearly completed, it says.    The government has also taken initiatives to build railway line from Bhanga in Faridpur to Payra port via Barishal and Patuakhali to connect Payra Port with Padma Rail Link.   The approval of the revised manpower structure of 47,703 posts is in the process, which will enhance the quality of service of railways, according to the document.

Travelling without a ticket may be a common offence. But after travelling without tickets for many years, a 61-year-old retired Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) official chose to listen to his conscience. Emdadul Haque, a resident of Kanikara village in Nabinagar upazila, came back to Brahmanbaria railway station on Monday and paid Tk 2,350 to the station master. "The amount was due to the railways as all these years I travelled without a ticket to Dhaka from the district. Now I will get peace of mind," said Emdadul. Also read: Probe body formed over Natore train derailment Chief booking assistant of Brahmanbaria railway station, Kabir Hossain Talukder, said he was really moved by Emdadul's gesture. “We issued tickets worth Tk 2,530 for an intercity train, Mahanagar Provati, from Brahmanbaria to Chattogram so that Emdadul can 'repay his debt'. His honesty is an inspiration for all of us,” he said. Emdadul’s son Imran said his father is basically a man of integrity. “During the last year of service, he travelled to Dhaka from Brahmanbaria several times without a ticket but kept an account of it," he said. Also read: Unmanned rail crossings are mostly to blame for rail accidents

Bangladesh undertook the Padma Bridge construction project a decade ago with the dream of connecting the people of Southern Bangladesh with the capital Dhaka to speed up the economy. And the dream comes true as the bridge on mighty river Padma was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on June 25, 2022, expecting to fulfill the dreams of many people in Bangladesh. However, building such a big bridge with self-finance was not easy. But Bangladesh has surprised the whole world. With the inauguration of the Padma multipurpose bridge, one-third of Bangladesh has become connected to Dhaka by road. From the length of the Bridge to the number of pillars, many facts make the bridge comparable to a wonder. Let’s get to know some facts about Padma Bridge. Amazing Facts About Padma Bridge Build On a Continuous Stream of Water According to statistics, 1.40 lakh cubic meters of water can go to the sea every second through the Padma. The amount of water that flows into the sea through the Padma is the second highest in the world after the Amazon River. This continuous stream of water will pass under the Padma Bridge. So the system should be kept in such a way that the water can flow under the bridge without any interruption and go to the Bay of Bengal. Read: Padma Bridge to transform Bagerhat’s tourism industry If the water gets trapped in any way, it will flood upstream (west-north side of the river), and at the same time, this water will put a lot of pressure on the bridge. As a result, bridge failure can occur. Padma Bridge has been built keeping these things in mind. Long Piles The height of Padma bridge piles is 120-128 meters. That is, each pile is equal to a 40-story building. This is because, during the monsoon, when there is excess flow, the Padma River may scour 65 meters of soil, that means 65 meters of soil is washed away from the bottom of the river. No river in the world has the capacity to wash away so much soil. Hence, the piles of the Padma Bridge are so large to resist the sediment transport of the Padma during monsoons. In the history of bridge construction, the foundation of a bridge has never been built at such a depth anywhere in the world. Read Padma Bridge symbol of new Bangladesh: FM tells his Portuguese counterpart Germany Made Special Crane and Hammer Installing 120-128-meter-high piles is not a piece of cake. In the world, there is no such high pile placement machine. So special cranes and hammers were made from Germany only for the Padma Bridge. Can Survive Heavy Earthquake Another record of Padma Bridge is its ability to withstand earthquakes. The Padma Bridge can withstand an earthquake of 9 on the Richter scale without any complications. Heavy Bearing Each bearing between the span and pier of Padma Bridge has a weight of about 10,500 metric tons. No other bridge in the world has ever used such heavy bearings. The technology used here is base isolation, in which the foundation will move during an earthquake, but the bridge above will not move.  Read Shariatpur poultry farmers' dreams now stretch beyond Padma Bridge There will be a system of movement. This is called a pendulum bearing, which will help to slide the span and help to back again in place. It is used in many places in the world. However, it has never been used in such a large project. Due to this technology, the number of piles and size of pile caps is reduced to some extent. Vertical Bored Concrete Pile The piles below the two piers are slightly different, which are vertical bored concrete piles that are up to 80 meters deep. It means that these piles are not inclined but straight underwater. These are concrete piles, like the common columns of our houses. These piles are cast into the water, which means pouring concrete into the water. But the concrete does not float and becomes a column. River Training Another very important function of the Padma Bridge was river training, which was very challenging. There are very few companies in the world that can do this job. Sinohydro, the Chinese state-owned company, got this tender in July 2014.  Read Padma Bridge: Tk 4.19 crore toll collection breaks 24-hr record Alongside Padma bridge construction, the River dredging was started. Dredging is the removal of silt from the bottom so that there is less obstruction in the flow of water. So that more amount (higher volume of water) can go. It was expected that the pressure of water on the edge would be reduced a little. Dredging 10 million cubic meters at Mawa end. And 40 million cubic meters of dredging at the Jazira end. Another part of river training was placing stones, concrete blocks, and geo bags on the banks of the river. 8.5 lakh tons of stone were used at the Mawa end, and 30 lakh tons of stone were thrown at the Jazira end. 3,907,500 geo bags weighing 800 kg and 17,267,500 geo bags weighing 125 kg were dropped. A total of cement concrete blocks was 13,301,248. Due to the Padma Bridge, a 14 km area has come under river training. It is rare to find such a large area taken control for river training. Read Padma Bridge a symbol of pride for developing world: Hun Sen Exclusive Engineering Technologies Applied in Padma Bridge Rail Line The train will pass through the steel structure. The rail line is dual gauge. Therefore, the broad gauge and meter gauge, both types of trains, can cross the Padma Bridge. There will be emergency arrangements so that people can be alighted from the train and taken to a safe place in case of any kind of trouble on the train. Again, this is not an ordinary railway line. It has provision for double-decker containers to carry goods. Railways in Bangladesh usually take one container. But it is being done here so that in future trains can go with one container on top of another. It is the first ballastless rail track and is made with RCC instead of stone. The rail track is placed on a truss structure (the V-shaped steel structure). Read Parjatan's Padma Bridge package tour launched Final Words Padma Bridge is a symbol of political status, self-reliance, courage, determination, ability, and confidence. The construction of this Padma bridge is an ‘engineering wonder' in front of the whole world, an example of overcoming engineering challenges. 

Dhaka University student Mohiuddin Roni and his fellow protesters on Thursday alleged that they had been attacked at Kamalapur railway station by some law enforcement people. "When we tried to enter Kamalapur Railway station to stage our regular protest, they stopped and attacked us. It is a clear violation of civil rights," Rony told UNB. A female protester named Munni said, "When we were entering Kamalapur Railway station for protest, some Railway police and local law enforcement personnel prevented us. They hurt us by pushing us with their batons." The incident took place around 5 pm on Thursday. Another eye witness has given the same account of the incident. Then the protesters came to Shahbag around 7 pm and squatted there demanding the implementation of his six-point demand along with the proper justice for such harassment. Earlier on July 19, Roni submitted a memorandum to the director general of Bangladesh Railway to press for his six-point  demand and gave an ultimatum of 48 hours. Before this, from July 8, he has been demanding the implementation of his six-point denane after being deceived by SOHOZ.com while buying a train ticket to go home during the vacation of Eid-Ul-Azha. However, when he alleged this deception to Vokta Odhikar Songrokkhon Parishad, they investigated it and fined SOHOZ.com an amount of TK. Two lakh of which Roni was given Tk50000 on July 20.

Railway Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujon said necessary measures will be taken  if any complaints are received from passengers in getting train tickets online ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.  The minister told reporters after receiving 50 high quality trollies imported from China by Islami Bank Bangladesh at Kamalapur railway station on Saturday.  “During Eid-ul-Fitr we received various complaints regarding online ticketing but during this Eid we have not yet received any complaint. Many media already reported that people are getting tickets online,” he added.  Yet if any gaps or complaints are found measures will be taken accordingly, said the railway minister.  Read: Eid advance train ticket sales begin In current fiscal year the government has allocated Tk 19,000 crore for the Railways Ministry . “Once the ongoing projects are completed people will be able to go to Cox’s Bazar and Bhanga from Dhaka by train,” said the minister. 

The application for the post of Booking Assistant Grade-2 in the revenue sector of Bangladesh Railway has started from April 8. Recently, a job circular was published to recruit 153 employees for this post. Candidates from all districts can apply for this post. Interested candidates need to apply online. Railway Job Details: Position Name: Booking Assistant Grade-2 Number of posts: 153 Eligibility: HSC / equivalent pass. Must be proficient in computer management. Salary Scale: TK.9,700-23,490 Read Primary Teacher Recruitment: 23 instructions for candidates for the post of primary assistant teacher Railway Job Age limit Candidates must be between 18 and 30 years of age on April 1, 2022. However, in case of children of Bir Muktijoddha / Shaheed Bir Muktijoddha and physically challenged candidates, the maximum age is 32 years. The maximum age for grandchildren of heroic freedom fighters / martyrs is 30 years. How to apply on Bangladesh Railway Job: Interested candidates need to apply online through this website. Detailed information regarding application process, application fee submission procedure and recruitment can be found at this link. If you have any problem to apply online, you can call 121 from Teletalk number. You can also e-mail to [email protected] In this case, the name of the company, the name of the position, the applicant user ID and the contact number should be given in the subject of the mail. Read PWD Job Circular: Large Recruitment for the Department of Public Works, Vacancy 449 Railway Job Application fee The application fee and service charge of Tk 112 has to be submitted through Teletalk pre-paid number within 72 hours of application. Application deadline: May 17, 2022, Until 5 p.m.

Passengers can travel again on a cross-border railway line linking Kurtha in eastern Nepal and the Indian border town of Jogbani on Sunday after a gap of eight years, a Nepal Railway Company official said Saturday. Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is in India for a visit, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi jointly inaugurated the railway service on Saturday via video link. "Though the inauguration of the railway service took place on Saturday, passenger movement on the railway line will start from Sunday," Tul Bahadur Dangi, administrative officer with the Nepal Railway Company, told Xinhua. "People will be able to travel on the railway in Nepal after a gap of eight years," he added. First built as a cargo line in 1937 to carry timber from Nepal to India, the Janakpur-Jaynagar railway was a lifeline for people in Nepal's Janakpur region. It ran under poor conditions until January 2014 when the railway service was halted to develop a broad-gauge railway line on the existing narrow gauge. READ: Nepal-Bangladesh to explore potential sectors to invest under FTA: CNI delegation Originally 29-km long, the railway line now runs 35 km. It is the only railway network for passengers and also the first broad-gauge one in Nepal. The Nepal Railway Company has been operating its two rail sets on the line since Feb. 13 without passengers aboard. The company has hired 26 Indians for a year to run the railway service until its Nepali staff are trained enough to operate by themselves. "Our two rail sets can accommodate over 2,600 passengers including those who occupy seats and those who have to travel standing," Dangi said. "The improved railway service will provide the shortest route for cross-border movement for people of the border region. It will also help boost local economy along with increasing economic activities in the areas around the railway stations."

Bangladesh Railway has published a recruitment circular for the post of Booking Assistant Grade-2 in the revenue sector. 153 people will be taken in this post. Candidates from all districts will be able to apply. Interested candidates need to apply online. According to the notification, to apply for the post of Booking Assistant Grade-2, one has to pass HSC or equivalent examination. In addition, you need to have skills in computer management. Railway Job Circular The age of the candidate for application is between 18-30 years on 1st April. The maximum age for children of heroic freedom fighters and physically challenged candidates is 32 years. However, the grandchildren of the freedom fighters will not get age discount. In their case, the maximum age is 30 years. Affidavit of age proof is not admissible. READ: BBC Media Action Job Circular: bbcmediaaction.org How to Apply for Railway Job Candidates working in government, semi-government and autonomous organizations must apply through the appropriate authorities. Children of those who have worked in Bangladesh Railway for at least 20 years will get the benefit of pet quota. Interested and eligible candidates should apply through this website (www.br.teletalk.com.bd). After filling the online application form properly, you need to upload color picture and signature. 300-300 size pictures and 300-80 size signatures should be scanned and added. After submitting the application form, an application copy with user ID, photo and signature will be given. Using this user ID, you have to deposit the test fee of TK 100 and TK. 12 for Teletalk service charge through Teletalk number and a total of TK. 112 within 72 hours. Even if all the parts of the application form are filled and submitted, the application form will not be accepted till the examination fee is paid. The mobile number given by the candidate in the application form should be kept active at all times. Because, next time, all the information related to the test will be sent via text message to this mobile phone. After applying, user ID and password will be sent via text message on mobile phone. Using it, you have to download the entry form with roll number, position name, photo, exam date, time and center name. This entry form must be shown at the time of participation in the written examination and at the time of passing the oral examination. Read Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) Recruitment Circular 2022: Job Circular for the Position of Officer Cadet Candidates have to apply online and deposit money themselves. In this case, the authority will not be responsible if the candidate is deceived by applying through any other means. It is suggested in the notification to fill the application form and submit the fee in time without waiting for the last date and time. If you have any problem to apply, you can contact Teletalk number 121 or [email protected] After verification and selection of the application form, written and oral examination of the candidates will be taken. After passing the written test, one set of attested copy along with the original copy of all the certificates should be submitted during the oral test and one set of attested photocopies along with the completed application form should be submitted. Citizenship Certificate, Original Copy of National Identity Card and Original Copy of Muktijoddha Quota in case of Muktijoddha Quota should be submitted with the signature of Union Parishad Chairman / Mayor / Ward Councilor of City Corporation as proof of permanent resident of the district. During the test, you have to participate in the test by following the hygiene rules related to Covid-19. If appointed to this post, the salary scale will be TK . 9,800-23,490. Read Basic Software Skills for Freshers to Get Hired Easily Deadline of Application on Railway Job Applications will start from 7 April 2022. Applications can be submitted till 17 May 2022.

The government wants to connect Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar through a railway network to facilitate the movement of tourists but the crucial project taken in this regard has got stuck in limbo due to the Covid-19 pandemic, officials say.    They hope that a direct railway connection with Cox’s Bazar may change fortunes in the beach town as tourists always want to reach their destinations without hazards for their perfect vacationing. Once completed, the officials said, the 102-km new dual gauge single railway line from Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar will provide “pleasurable and relaxing” journeys for travelers, and this in turn will boost the economy along the railway alignment. READ: Flood-affected people in Cox’s Bazar cry for food and drinking water The Tk 18,035-crore project, designated by the government as one of the top 10 priority projects in Bangladesh, is being implemented in two lots. China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) is implementing the Lot-2 (Chakaria to Cox’s Bazar) of the project together with Bangladesh joint venture partner MAX Infrastructure Limited, while China Railway Group Ltd (CREC) and Toma Construction JV are implementing Lot-1 (from Dohazari to Chakaria).

As part of initiative taken to modernise the railway services, more than 50 railway stations are now being renovated on the occasion of the Mujib Year, said Railways Minister Md. Nurul Islam Sujan on Sunday. “The government has taken different initiatives in order to build a modern, up-to-date and advanced railway communication system,” he said. The minister said this while laying the foundation stone of a modern public toilet adjacent to the Kamalapur Railway Station here. WaterAid Bangladesh and Bangladesh Railway jointly constructed the toilet, said a PID handout. “Some 52 railway stations are being renovated and modernised throughout the country on the occasion of the Mujib birth centenary. These will have modern toilets,” he said. Read: After 56 yrs, Bangladesh-India rail link to reopen Sunday Nurul said many projects are now being implemented and many others have already been undertaken for the development of the railway sector. “Old rail tracks and bridges are being repaired. New rail coaches and engines are being brought. The new trains would have bio toilets to avoid the pollution of the environment,” he said. He said the Khulna-Mongla railway and Tongi-Joydebpur double-track railway would be launched  next year. Had the railway faced no brunt of Coronavirus, the sector would be more developed now, he said. The minister said the Bangladesh Railway has taken initiative to form a consultancy firm under its own management as part of enhancing the capacity. “We would be able to provide consultancy service with our own manpower and thus it would save the foreign currency,” he said. Talking about the new public toilet, he said WaterAid Bangladesh and Bangladesh Railway will also construct two such toilets at the valiant freedom fighter Sirajul Islam Railway Station in Panchagarh and Ishwardi Railway Station in Pabna. Read: Dhaka’s first-ever metro rail set to start by December 2022, says project chief The public toilet would be a friendly one to women, children and even persons with disabilities.  Alongside the separate entry doors for both women and men, there would be safe water, rainwater conservation system, breast-feeding corner and solar power system in the toilets. Railway Secretary Md. Salim Reza and WaterAid Bangladesh country director Hasin Jahan also spoke at the function presided over by Director General of Bangladesh Railways Dhirendra Nath Mazumder.