Trains to run on Padma Bridge in June next year, says railways minister

The train service from Dhaka to Bhanga through the Padma Bridge will be opened in June next year, said Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan on Sunday.

After the inauguration of the bridge next month, the work of installing the railway tracks on the bridge will start in July, said the minister while inspecting the progress of construction work of Mawa railway station under the Padma Bridge project at Mawa end of Louhajong Upazila in Munshiganj, reports UNB.

There were plans to open the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga rail service on the day of the opening of the Padma Bridge, but it was not possible to work on the upper part of the bridge as the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project Authority did not get the permission due to technical reasons, he said.

He said the progress of the 39-km railway from Dhaka to Mawa is about 60.4 per cent while the progress of 42-km railway from Mawa to Bhanga is 78 per cent and Bhanga to Jashore is 49.5 per cent.

The overall progress of the railway bridge from Dhaka to Jashore is 57.50 per cent and the total 172 kilometres railway project from Dhaka to Jashore will be completed in 2024, he added.

The rail line of the Padma Bridge project is about 169 km from Dhaka to Jashore.

The cost of this project has been estimated at around Tk 400.00 billion. The government of Bangladesh will finance about Tk 180.00 billion and the Chinese government will provide the rest of the money.

On May 11, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said the much-hyped Padma Bridge will be inaugurated in June and preparations are going on for its opening.

The minister said the work progress of the main bridge is 98 per cent while river training is 92 per cent and the progress of carpeting work is 91 per cent.

The total work progress of the project is 93.50 per cent, he said.