Electric trains to be introduced on major routes : PM Tarique Rahman

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. File Photo

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman said on Wednesday that the government has decided to introduce electric traction or electric trains on major railway routes to ensure safer and environment-friendly transportation.

He made the remarks during the question-answer session of Parliament’s budget session on Wednesday, chaired by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad.

Replying to a question from Cumilla-10 lawmaker Md Mobasher Alam Bhuiyan, the prime minister said the government has adopted several plans to improve road and railway connectivity.

He said, “An expressway grid and a multimodal transport system will be developed on highways in phases. Smart monitoring and axle-load control systems will also be introduced to control overloading on roads.”

The prime minister said ring roads and radial road networks are being constructed to reduce traffic pressure in Dhaka, while overpasses and underpasses will be built at different intersections to ease congestion.

Highlighting several mega projects, he said plans are underway to construct a second Jamuna Bridge over the Jamuna River and a second Padma Bridge in the Paturia-Daulatdia area.

He said ongoing and planned projects include the Dhaka-Ashulia and Dhaka Elevated Expressway connectivity project, a two-tier road from Panchabati to Muktarpur Bridge, bridges over the Kalabdar and Tentulia rivers on the Barishal-Bhola road, bridges over the Meghna River on the Shariatpur-Chandpur and Bhulta-Araihazar roads, and the Dhaka-Chattogram Elevated Expressway.

The prime minister said a master plan have been adopted to develop Bangladesh Railway as the backbone of the country’s national transport system. “Under the plan, 24 projects will be implemented in three phases until 2045 to expand railway services to every district and major city,” he added.

He further said the entire railway network is gradually being converted into a dual-gauge system, which will make passenger and freight train operations easier across the country.

Outlining plans to increase railway capacity, the prime minister said the number of intercity and commuter trains will be gradually increased.

Under short-term plans for 2026-27, projects will be taken up to add three intercity and 10 commuter trains. In the medium term (2027-30), he said 15 intercity and 16 commuter trains will be added, while in the long term (2031-45), projects will be implemented to add 103 intercity and 85 commuter trains.

Tarique Rahman expressed hope that the initiatives will make railway travel easier, safer and more comfortable for people.