Padma Bridge railway ready for trial run

With the construction of the railway on the Padma Bridge completed, the structure is waiting for a trial run.

A specially designed rail engine made by the US, commonly referred to as a Track Car or Gang Car, will experimentally drag several coaches made by China in the test run scheduled for Tuesday (4 March).

Officials said that the railway construction on the 6.68 km-long bridge was completed earlier. The construction of the railway ended with the casting of a seven-metre section that was delayed due to the unavailability of one sleeper.

The concrete pouring for that section was finished last Wednesday near the 25th pole of the bridge. Concrete requires at least 48 hours to set and 72 hours to fully harden. The engineers examined the section on Friday evening.

They conducted inspections and tests on the final welded components and also carried out laboratory tests on casting cubes. The results were satisfactory in all cases, said Brig Gen Syeed Ahmed, a manager of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project.

On Saturday, 72 hours after the welding, the engineers declared that the railway line on the Padma Bridge is now completely prepared for train operation.

Of the total 42 km of railway track from Mawa station to Bhanga, 29 km has been constructed using stones. An experimental train will also be operated on this route.

The locomotive for the first train to cross the Padma Bridge was imported from the United States and will be hauled by seven coaches brought in from China.
Padma Bridge railway ready for trial run with engine from US, coaches from China

The engine and coaches departed from the Saidpur railway workshop and were on their way to Bhanga, said Asim Kumar Talukder, general manager of Bangladesh Railway's West Zone.

According to him, 100 new coaches have been procured from China for the project, and 15 of them have arrived.

The special train will include two air-conditioned chair coaches, one sleeper, one economy coach, two guard rakes, and one power car, Asim added.

There are still several tasks that need to be completed, such as welding at multiple locations along the railway line, setting up railings on the bridge viaduct, and developing an automated signalling system.

It may take another three months to run the passenger train as some work is still pending on the railway stations.

The rail link will stretch 172km from Dhaka to Jashore. Bangladesh Railway will open the Dhaka-Bhanga section by December this year before the Dhaka-Jashore rail link is launched by Jun 30, 2024.

The ECNEC approved the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project in March 2016. The government estimated the cost of constructing the railway from Dhaka to Jashore would be Tk 349.89 billion.

It will have 20 stations - six already existing and 14 to be constructed.

The railway line is divided into three sections: Dhaka to Mawa, Mawa to the Padma Bridge via Faridpur’s Bhanga, and Bhanga to Jashore. The Padma Bridge is situated in the section between Faridpur and Mawa.

Work for the Bhanga-Mawa section was 99 percent completed, while the Mawa-Dhaka section was 75 percent done, according to Padma Bridge Rail Link Project Director Afzal Hossain.

The bridge has established direct road connectivity between the heartland and 21 southwestern districts across the mighty Padma River. Officials believe that the new railway on the bridge will bring significant changes to the country's railway network.