June 19, 2013 | 11:24 PM (BD Time)

19 June, 2013 Wednesday

Breaking News:Afghan President Karzai to boycott talks with Taliban ; 30 brokers jailed at Agargaon passport office ; ACC a toothless tiger : Chairman ; Obama to call for nuclear cuts in Berlin speech ; 2 fake DB men arrested in Jessore; Hartal in CHT progressing peacefully for 2nd day ; NSA director says plot against Wall Street foiled ; Israeli premier: pressure on Iran must continue ; DCC elections after Eid-ul-Fitr : EC ; Indefinite transport strike (Khulna) enters day 3 ; 18-party to stage demo countrywide on June 22 ; One killed in Jamalpur ‘by brother’ ; Jhenidah road crashes kill 2 ;

Bringing railway back to life

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INCIDENTS of train derailment have gone up frighteningly in recent times resulting in disruption of train communications on different routes across the country. As reported thousands of passengers had to experience untold sufferings as the rail communication of Dhaka with Chittagong, Sylhet and Chandpur remainmed snapped for 16 hours on Tuesday due to derailment of a goods train that blocked the movement of trains on these routes.  Neglect in terms of investment compared to other modes of transportation, poor operation, maintenance, management, quality of service and widespread corruption are believed to be the main causes behind this.

Train derails due to various reasons including overloading, poor track maintenance and defects in the wheels of the compartments. In some instances derailment causes fatal accidents. Such derailments often occur on branch lines because the condition of those is worse. There were 489 derailments in 2010. Moreover, unguarded level crossings, frequent mechanical and human failures and outdated signaling system were the reasons behind 590 rail accidents that occurred during the same period. In subsequent years - 2011 and 2012 - the situation further aggravated. The rail sector has been limping for about last 40 years as little investment has been made in the sector.  Corruption has been affecting virtually all sorts of development initiatives of BR. Railway's share of cargo carrying has reduced to 9 per cent and that of passengers to 4 per cent although the population has more than doubled and mobility of goods and services has also increased several folds during the last four decades. Bangladesh Railway incurs losses amounting to Tk 7000 crores per year. But railway still remains the most safe, cost effective and environmentally sound mode of transport in the country.  With better human resources and technical management, railway has the potential to come back to life.