A trial run of a train of the Padma Bridge rail link between Faridpur’s Bhanga and the Padma Bridge viaduct at Shariatpur was conducted yesterday morning.
The train started its 32km journey from the district’s Bhanga Railway Station to the Padma Bridge viaduct at around 10:30am.
It took the trial train around an hour and 45 minutes to reach its destination, said Chief Coordinator of Padma Bridge Rail Link Project Major General Zahid Hossain.
He said around 28km of the 32km route are elevated.
The full length of the Padma Bridge rail link is about 169km from Dhaka to Jessore. The cost of the project is estimated to be around Tk 39,247 crore, with the Bangladesh government financing about Tk18,000 crore and the Chinese government providing the rest of the money.
According to Bangladesh Railway (BR), the Padma Bridge Rail project will be implemented by 2024.
Project officials said the rail link is being implemented in three sections. The first section, from Bhanga to Mawa, is over 75% complete.
The second section of the rail link, from Mawa to Dhaka, is over 50% complete while work on most of the elevated sections has been done.
The installation of a rail track on the lower deck of the Padma Bridge started on August 20 with the aim of completing the task by mid-next year. BR aims to complete the first two sections within the timeframe.
The third and final phase of the work will connect Bhanga to Jessore. It is scheduled to be completed in 2024. Progress on the section stood at 64% as of August this year.
Recently, Railways Minister Nurul Sujan told Dhaka Tribune: “We are hopeful about meeting the targets.”
SM Salimullah Bahar, chief planning officer of Bangladesh Railway, said the Padma Bridge rail link project will set the southwestern regions of the country on the path to significant economic development.
He further said it will soon take only four hours for goods to arrive in Dhaka from Khulna’s Mongla Port, as the Khulna-Mongla rail link project is almost done. The government approved the construction of the 169km railway line from Dhaka to Jessore in March 2016 and it is listed as a fast-track project.
