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The Chinese contractor working on rail-track development from Jashore to Dhaka via Padma Bridge is likely to get the maintenance work for two years after completion of the task.
The Bangladesh Railway (BR) has received a draft proposal from the China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) for negotiations on the issue.
"We're planning to sign a service contract with the Chinese company soon," said project director (PD) Mohammad Afzal Hossain.
He said the company would be asked to do the maintenance of the 169-kilometre track and train BR staff during the period.
The tenure of the two-year contract will start after the defect liability period.
About training, Mr Hossain said as a modern tamping machine has been brought under the project for maintenance, training of BR staff would be needed for future operation.
The CREC and its 12 subsidiaries have been developing the corridor with ballast-less and ballasted track in four phases since a loan deal done in April 2018. The Tk 392.46-billion project is supposed to be completed by June 2024 as per the revised development project proposal.
But rail operation from Bhanga to Dhaka is likely to start next October after inauguration in September, according to the project office.
Sources said BR director general M Kamrul Ahsan and Mr Hossain recently visited China to see the manufacturing of the tamping machine in Chengdu province.
According to the PD, the machine, being bought under the PBRL project, may arrive here in a month or two.
The Padma rail link will connect south-western districts of the country including the Mongla port.
Apart from the track, it has 43.2km loop and siding line, bringing the total track length to 215.2km.