Two-fifths of passenger carriages of the Bangladesh Railway (BR)'s west zone are worn out, making its fleets vulnerable and risky, officials said.
West zone officials said the older passenger coaches are affecting their services leading to the delay in train departures, arrivals and on-board facilities.
According to the West Zone Railway Authority, some 245 broad-gauge (BG) and metre-gauge (MG) passenger carriages out of total 640 in their fleet have lost their ability to operate.
Railway officials said the state-run corporation has 428 BG coaches and 212 MG coaches in its fleet. Out of total, 120 BG and 125 MG carriages have already crossed their economic life.
Except for some inter-city trains, the conditions of most other carriages are so vulnerable that the passengers do not get even nominal on-board facilities.
The coaches are dirty, toilets are unusable, and seats are unclean, passengers alleged.
A senior Railway official said the authorities have taken initiatives to rehabilitate 50 BG and 50 MG passenger carriages, which are running even after expiring their economic age.
After rehabilitating the carriages, the west zone's service will improve, he said.
The proposed rehabilitation will extend the economic life of the vulnerable passenger fleet by eight to ten years, the official added.
"We had operated almost all the passenger carriages over the years and couldn't go for scheduled repair and maintenance. Thus, many of them, especially the older ones, are running without maintenance," said the senior BR official.
All the coaches will be rehabilitated at the Syedpur Railway Workshop in Nilphamari within three years, the official added.
"We've already sent a Tk 1.39 billion project proposal to the Planning Commission for getting approval. Soon after the approval, repair work for the coaches will start," he added.
In the west zone, the BR operates some 145 trains daily on different routes within and outside of its zone.
The total length of the route at the west zone is 1,289 km, where 507km is BG line, 501km is MG and 280.55km is dual-gauge lines.
Bangladesh Railway is divided into two zones-West Zone and East Zone. The mighty Jamuna River has divided the Railway into two Zones.
The east zone's headquarters is situated in Dhaka while the west zone is in Rajshahi.
The Railway has been grappling with its aging fleet even as the government has invested substantial amount of money over the last one decade.
The Railway has got the highest allocation of Tk 121 billion in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) of the fiscal year, 2019-2020, part of a plan to improve its service.
The proposed allocation is 70 per cent higher than the current allocation of Tk 71.03 billion in the revised ADP for the outgoing fiscal.
Another BR official said they are trying to enhance the service of the Railway so that the passengers can enjoy a smooth journey to their destinations.
Since the railway budget is increasing every year, its service will also be improved within the next couple of years, he added.
