CHATTOGRAM, Apr 16: According to Project Director (PD) Md Masudur Rahman, more than 82 per cent of the 4.8 km long Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Railway Bridge over the Jamuna River has been built thus far. This information was provided to the Daily Observer.
He also confirmed that the construction works of the total of 50 piers have been completed fully.
He hoped that the bridge is expected to be opened before December this year.
The Bangabandhu Rail Bridge is being constructed with the full financial assistance of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) of Tk 16,000 crore, he said.
An international network of rail communication with North Bengal and South Asia will be established through this bridge.
The bridge will have dual gauge double line, where trains will run at 120 KPH speed on broad gauge and will take five minutes to cross the river which now takes around 40 minutes.
It will be possible to run more number of trains which will increase the number of domestic trains as well as inter-city trains and direct freight trains from India.
The 4.8km-long dedicated railway bridge is being built parallel to the existing Bangabandhu Bridge to relieve pressure on the bridge and provide hassle-free rail communications between the capital and the western zone of Bangladesh Railway.
A new window of opportunity for business and trade will open up for the people of the northern region once the railroad bridge is operational.
Railway communications between Dhaka and the north and south-western regions of the country were introduced for the first time with the opening of the Bangabandhu Bridge in 1998.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge on November 29, 2020.
The railway bridge project will include a 7.6 km double-line railway approach embankment and a 30.73 km dual-gauge railway track. Additionally, the East and West stations and yards of the Bangabandhu Bridge will be renovated and remodelled.
The proposed Bangabandhu Railway Bridge is a lifeline connecting the north-western part with the eastern part of Bangladesh. The present project is undertaken by Bangladesh Railway (BR).
The project envisages the construction of a railway bridge with provision for a dual gauge double track which will run 300 meters up stream and parallel to the exiting Bangabandhu Bridge over the river Jamuna. The proposed project is funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the project comprises of constructing of the 4.8 km long bridge across the river Jamuna and construction of about 6.5 km long approach rail track along with the computer based interlocking signalling system.
The western alignment passes through the Bangabandhu Eco-Park. No additional land is required for acquisition. As such resettlement and rehabilitation problems will not be required to be addressed in this project. The entire alignment passes through the land owned by the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) and that of BR. The proposed bridge will address the load restrictions and speed restrictions on the existing Bangabandhu Bridge. The proposed project will generate multi-dimensional benefit for the local population and will improve the inter-regional trade among the South Asian countries. A feasibility study of this project was conducted during 2013-2014 by ADB and a Supplemental Survey of this project was conducted by JICA in 2015.
