Bangladesh Railway has taken an initiative to repair 20 out-of-order diesel electric multiple unit (Demu) trains to run them again by December next year amid concern over loss to the state coffers in running these trains.
The government procured the Demu trains with an estimated cost of Tk 6.00 billion in 2013 from China’s Tangshan Railway Vehicle Co. Ltd. After seven years, all of them became out of order, and now the railway authorities are making a rushed attempt to repair them, according to UNB.
The Demu trains were operated in various routes under Dhaka, Chattogram and Lalmonirhat railway divisions.
Bangladesh Railway has incurred over Tk 155.55 billion in losses in 13 years between FY2008-09 and FY2019-20.
In FY2020-21, an interim report said the state-run agency posted a loss of Tk 13.84 billion.
Some officials have expressed their concern over the procurement of the Demu trains that became out of order within a few years while they say locomotives the railway bought from the US in 1953 are still operative. Also, the coaches that were bought from Germany in the 1980s are still being used to carry passengers.
According to the Bangladesh Railway sources, now two to three sets of Demu trains will be repaired by January 2023, five others will be made operational by June 2023 while the rest of the trains will be repaired by December, 2023.
Officials say the repairs have become necessary as the mechanical and electrical parts of the Demu trains have become dysfunctional due to ‘schedule overdue’ as they have been lying unrepaired for a long period.
According to the short-term plan, the Demu trains, which are in good condition and need minimal fixing will be made operational first. Module-based operating systems of these trains will be replaced by easily available parts and machinery in the market, they say.
Those Demu trains that would need more repair work will be included in the medium-term plan. And the trains that need heavy repairing will be part of the long-term plan.
Although it has been six years since rail tracks for Demu trains were laid down, engines of most of trains have become dysfunctional due to a lack of heavy scheduling. Demu operation was suspended because of loud noise of the engines, emission of huge amount of black smoke, load problems and the overheating of the engines.
As there was no separate workshop for repairing the Demu trains, steps had been taken to use the existing diesel workshops for servicing in 2018. Each of the Demu trains has two motor cars and one trailer car. These trains have engines on both sides.
