Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

 The Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar rail line via Chattogram is likely to open this September, but the rail connectivity between the capital and the tourist district may not be smooth before 2028.

Vehicle registration in Bangladesh has declined to an eight-year low in the first four months of this year, owing to consumer tightening their belts and escalated prices fueled by higher import costs.

In a major development, the metro rail authority has finalised the first contractor which will begin the physical work of the country’s third metro rail project titled Mass Rapid Transit Line-5 (Northern Route).

Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) is set to buy 440 new buses, including 100 electric buses for the first time in the country, to enhance and upgrade its services in Dhaka, Chattogram and different inter-district routes.

While Bangladesh Railways is already struggling with more than 70 percent of its locomotives being old, it may face further issues as two of its projects, to buy or overhaul 91 locomotives, are going to be cancelled.

An extension of the Bus Rapid Transit Line-3 beyond Dhaka airport is being considered to further facilitate operations and serve city-bound passengers.

An impasse over the upgradation of Dhaka-Chattogram Highway seems to be over as the Roads and Highways Department has started working to determine where the road will have six lanes and where it will have eight.

Japan, South Korea and the World Bank have expressed interests in financing the preparatory works for two more metro rail lines, said the authorities.

The government is going to expand the Chattogram Port Access Road up to six lanes to improve connectivity between the country’s largest seaport, the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway and the yet-to-open Bangabandhu Tunnel.

The construction work of Bangabandhu Tunnel under the Karnaphuli River saw a 99.5 percent completion. However, the tunnel is unlikely to come into operation before September due to the delayed decision to install vehicle scanners there.

Rail operation between Dhaka and Narayanganj is likely to resume early next month as laying of a new rail line between Kamalapur and Gendaria is almost complete.

To celebrate Eid with their loved ones, thousands left Dhaka yesterday on trains, buses, and launches, and their journeys were mostly free of hassles.

Coaches are overcharging people heading for the north by up to Tk 900, taking advantage of the Eid rush, poor monitoring, and no set fare for long-haul air-conditioned buses.

The government has asked the non-government organisations working on road safety to inform the authorities concerned before releasing data on road crashes and casualties.

Physical works of the country’s largest steel-arch bridge in Mymensingh are expected to start in August, as the authorities have almost completed the preparatory works.

Road crash data from two government agencies does not match and this could lead to problems in making informed decisions on road safety

The government has finally approved a guideline for the registration and operation of electric vehicles.

The World Bank in March last year approved a loan for the biggest road safety project in Bangladesh. The loan contract with Bangladesh authorities has to be signed within one and a half years of the approval, or else, the loan would be cancelled, said officials.

A new rail-plus-road bridge at Kalurghat in Chattogram is going to cost almost 12 times the initial estimate because the authorities spent nine years doing multiple feasibility studies and designing and redesigning the bridge.

The second Dhaka-Narayanganj rail line project, which is already running behind schedule, has run into major trouble as a contractor has sought to cancel the contract.