United News of Bangladesh

The government has a long-term plan for the installation of a broad-gauge rail line on Lalmonirhat–Parbatipur route and construction of a new Teesta rail bridge, Railway Director General Afzal Hossain has said. He disclosed the plan while talking to journalists Friday night after inspecting different offices of Lalmonirhat Railway Division and the historic Teesta rail bridge. During the visit, the DG said Lalmonirhat rail division currently has a predominance of metre-gauge rail lines and the plan was taken to make rail services faster and more modern. If implemented, the project would bring a revolutionary change to the rail communication system in the northern region, he added. Referring to the Teesta rail bridge built in the 1800s, Afzal Hossain said the bridge has already crossed its designed lifespan about 25 years ago, yet it has been kept operational with great technical efficiency and train movement continues uninterrupted. If the plan for installing a broad-gauge line is implemented, the master plan will also include construction of a modern new rail bridge in place of the existing one. He also expressed concern over incidents of theft of different components and materials from the Teesta rail bridge. He firmly reminded that the railway is a national asset belonging to people. Protecting this asset is not the responsibility of the railway authorities alone but a moral duty of everyone, he said, urging local people to come forward to safeguard the state property. Divisional Railway Manager Abu Hena Mostafa, Divisional Engineer Ahsan Habib, senior railway officials and representatives of the local administration were present during the inspection.