Editorial
Help railway to its feet
The new minister brings fresh hopes
THE railway communication has received step-motherly treatment from successive governments in Bangladesh which abandoned the sector in preference to road communications in particular. The resultant effect has been a diminished operational capacity in terms of routes, services offered and passenger amenities. The railways lacked locomotives, wagons, proper signaling systems, safe tracks, trained manpower and necessary rolling stocks.
The decrepit state in which the railways finds itself is largely owing to non-implementation of projects that couldn't progress beyond the drawing boards. For instance, the present government this year has allocated a meagre Tk 480 crore for ongoing projects so far against a demand for Tk 3,549.
The potentials, however, are enormous. Given the fact that it is potentially a bulk carrier of goods and passengers and also a safer mode of transportation, the railways should receive a high priority from here on. With the recent separation of railway into a full ministry and the veteran politician Suranjit Sen Gupta holding the portfolio, we would expect a set of effective measures to restore the railway to its rightful place in a multi-modal transportation system. In today's world, the railways play a vital role in fostering greater connectivity within a country as well as in the region.
In light of these prospects, we would expect the new minister to get a full grip of where the problems lie and then move expeditiously with the government to implement the projects that are in hand and undertake some more to give the sector an impetus it badly needs. The minister has promised punctuality and better services, and we believe he is on the right track for a starter. After revamping the management, he needs to turn the railways into a commercially viable sector, part of which will involve a recovery of the railway lands lost to grabbers.
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