Train travel now risky

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Dilapidated condition of over 2,000 km of the country’s 2,835-km railway network and 675 unauthorised level crossings have made train journey quite risky.

Poor signalling system and shortage of efficient manpower also contribute to train accidents that left 43 people killed and about 200 injured only in 29 days since April 16 this year.

“Not more than 25-30 percent of the total rail track is now in good condition, the rest is quite risky,” a former director general (DG) of Bangladesh Railway (BR) told The Daily Star on Thursday.

BR Statistics shows 4,051 accidents causing deaths to 172 and injury to 1,208 took place from July 2001 to June 2007 with an average of 675 accidents every year. Thirty-two of the dead and 557 of the injured were railway employees. Nine people were killed in 111 accidents in the first three months of this year.

BR officials said only a few important sections of the railway network including Dhaka-Parbatipur, Dhaka-Sylhet and Rajshahi-Khulna lines are in good condition.

Trains shake dangerously at many places on Mymensingh-Bahadurabadghat route due to non-existence of slippers and stones in between the rails, said a locomaster (train driver) , who has been serving in the BR for 35 years. “It forces us to reduce train speed to 30-km an hour.”

Another senior locomaster said due to the same problem, trains have to run at low speed, below 45 km an hour, from Chinkiastana in Feni to Barkundu in Sitakundu on Dhaka-Chittagong route.

Mymensingh-Kishoreganj, Gouripur-Mohonganj, Shyamganj-Jaliajanjai, Sylhet-Chhatakbazar, Chittagong-Dohazari, Fateyabad-Najirhat, Dinajpur-Panchgarh, Lalmonirhat-Burimari and Teesta-Ramnabazar branch lines are in very ”bad condition”, they said.

“After we put bricks on Dhaka-Narayanganj track following stealing of stones, thieves also took away those,” said a BR director.

Though concrete slippers have replaced wooden ones in many sections of the railway lines, stealing of clips has again made plying of trains on those risky.

Though the government allocates some funds for maintenance of main lines, it seems to have no concern for branch lines, BR officials said.

“Fearing derailment, trains have to reduce speed to a great extent for passenger safety,” the former DG of BR said, adding that almost the entire railway network needs rehabilitation.

Most of the railway tracks were built during the British rule when train was considered the safest transport. Since 1971, the BR has built only 103 km new tracks.

Locomasters and BR officials also blamed unauthorised railroad crossings and other structures along the lines built on railway land for most of the accidents.

According to BR statistics, there are 2,189 level crossings in the country, 675 of which are unauthorised and many are unmanned.

The former DG also echoed locomasters’ complaints about branches of trees obstructing their view of signals on some routes like Dhaka-Mymensingh, alleging the authorities appear unconcerned about the problem.

A locomaster said, “We have to slow down at several points including Mosharrafganj, Bawshi, Tarakandi, Jamalpur court and Dewanganj Bazar on Mymensingh-Dewanganj section.” He also alleged that many signal lights do not work and cannot be seen from distance, creating serious problems.

Many of the mileposts along rail tracks are also missing, he added.

Of the 454 railway stations, many are in decrepit condition, requiring urgent rebuilding and added manpower.

The BR regularly operates 258 passenger trains and 54 freight trains. It carried 45.8 million people in 2006-2007, about eight percent of the passengers of all modes of transport during the period.

Seventeen people were killed on April 16 when a Dhaka-bound inter-city train rammed a passenger bus on a level crossing in Kalihati, Tangail. The signal lamps there remain on 24 hours a day making it difficult for bus drivers to know when a train is coming, and both gatemen were asleep when the accident occurred.

Three days later, 18 were killed as a passenger bus skidded off the road and fell on the railway line crossing Jamuna Bridge Approach Road in the same upazila.

Moreover, eight people were killed when a passenger train hit another at Ashuganj station in Brahmanbaria in the early hours of May 14. BR officials said both drivers of the Upaban Express and the stationmaster at Ashuganj were responsible for the accident.

On Tuesday, 10 people were injured as two compartments of a Chapainawabganj-bound passenger train derailed near Rahanpur station due to faulty track.

A day later, four bogies of a Bhairab-bound passenger train derailed injuring 25 people at Gochihata station in Kishoreganj due to dilapidated condition of the track.

Twelve passengers of Chittagong-bound train Turna Nishitha Express were injured as a bogey derailed at a station in Feni in the early hours of yesterday.

UNB says local sources blamed failure of the signal system and related problems for the mishap.

Despite the frequency of accidents, effective steps are yet to be taken to address the problem

“We cannot go for necessary repair and maintenance of rail tracks and train engines due to lack of fund,” a top BR official said, adding that funds allocated run out by the middle of a year.

Another senior BR official said, “What we badly need is fund for repair and maintenance of tracks and locos.”

Admitting that track condition is very bad at many places, Communications Secretary Dr Mahbubur Rahman said, “I don’t know why Railway did not get necessary attention over the years.”

He brushed aside allegations of lack of funds for maintenance, saying, “They (BR) cannot spend the funds they get for maintenance.” He also said the ministry has initiated steps for recruitment of manpower.

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