The single-track rail being built with the Padma bridge will have the capacity to operate 80 trains daily with provision of running double-deckers in both passenger and container services.
Official sources say the design of rail track along the country's longest bridge -- with road on top and rail on bottom -- to run passenger trains at 160-kilometre speed per hour and container trains at 120kph is unique.
The government planned to run trains from Janjira side through the Padma Bridge simultaneously with the road-traffic inauguration. But the plan was dropped at the last moment early this year for technical reason.
However, transport experts are critical of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge (PMB) project for designing expensive road-cum-rail bridge with single-track provision. They say Bangladesh may need to build dedicated rail bridge across the Padma river like the one being constructed across the Jamuna in next 10 to 15 years due to increase in train traffic.
They think due to its link with Mongla Port and land port as well as regional corridor with West Bengal state of India, the single-track rail may not be suitable for a long time.
However, the PMB project officials say the feasibility study found the rail track would not be saturated in next 50 years due to little scope of increasing in train services of Bangladesh Railway (BR) to cross 80 per day during the period.
Hardly train services or even tracks are still there with all 21 southwestern districts. Only five to six districts have rail tracks and regular train services which the number being no more than 10 till now.
But BR officials argue that the Padma Bridge Rail Link project is building the connecting track on both sides with dual-gauge option considering the future demand as developing any rail infrastructure is not only costly but also time-consuming.
An official said the Hardinge bridge constructed during the British period 100 years ago has double track option keeping the vision of the future need." But 100 years after the British made rail bridge, single track rail line in this expensive infrastructure works is not unfortunate," said an official preferring not to be names as the issue still is sensitive.
At present the Bangladesh Railway has comparatively running stations with train service with Khulna, Jessore, Benapole and Rajbari to introduce new train services after completion of the connectivity rail track as well as the track inside the Padma bridge.
The BR has no track, even no land, in the southern districts of Barisal division. Though the BR has plans to bring all the districts under rail network under its 30-year master plan, it has taken some projects to develop track with some new districts, including Meherpur, Khulna's Mongla, and Payra Port, by 2035. But many of these proposals are at planning stage and feasibility study.
Faridpur Pukuria branch rail line remained suspended since 1990 and Rupsha East-Bagerhat since 1997. But BR opened new line in Pachuria- Faridpur section on August 20, 2014 and on Kashiani-Gopalganj-Tungipara route on November 1, 2018.
A railway official, however, says the BR has already made a move to buy 100 carriages under the Padma Bridge Rail Link project to operate trains from Dhaka to Bhanga, Jashore and other districts through the Padma bridge after completion of rail parts in the bridge as well as its links on both sides.
PBM Project Director M Shafiqul Islam said the Padma bridge single track would remain operative after all these projects' implementation quite a long time. He ruled out the possibility of growing necessity to construct dedicated rail bridge in next two to three decades.
The BR is implementing the PBRL project to develop 169 rail links on both sides of the Padma Bride which is likely to establish rail line from Dhaka to Rajbari through Gandaria, Mawa, Bhanga, Faridpur, Pachuria and Rajbari. Some 20 stations will be set up on this corridor, creating scope of train services in the near future as it would reduce the length of journey by over 200 kms on Dhaka-Jashore-Khulna line.
Under the PBRL project the corridor is being developed constructing 66 major bridges, 244 minor brides, one underpass and 29 level- crossings for keeping provision of operating train at its maximum speed limit.
