The income from goods trains of Bangladesh Railway, Paksey division, has decreased drastically during the recent years. Specially, in 2024, the income of rail was the lowest in the last four years.
According to the Commercial Department of Paksey Railway Division, the income from the goods trains from January 2024 to September 2024 has decreased to a half than that of the corresponding last year.
From January to September 2023, a total of 583 goods trains moved under the Railway Paksey division. The total income of rail from the transport was Taka 80 crore while in the same months of 2024, only 294 trains plyed in the division earning only Taka 50 crore.
Railway sources further informed, in 2021, the total income from the goods trains in the Paksey division was Taka 180 core 74 lakh. The trains then carried 354 crores of kilograms of goods. in 2022, the income dropped to Taka 128 crore while in 2023, the income further dropped to Taka 8o crore only while in 2024 the income dropped to Taka 50 crore only.
An Official of West Zone Railway requesting anonymity said due to the increase in price of the US Dollar, the import of goods has dropped in 2024. At the same time, political unrest and an imbalance of trade with India (mainly import from India and not any export from there through goods trains) caused a drastic fall in income, specially from July-August.
In Iswardi Railway Junction, the rail depots were seen empty and there was no hastiness in the loading and unloading of goods on the trains. The railway Labourers were seen to spend their idle time. Coolie Abed Ali at Ishwardi Junction said earlier they were busy with work but for the last several months, he along with other Collies of the railway had no jobs. They have no savings and it is hard for them to maintain the family nowadays.
Ishwardi Railway Station Manager Mohibul Islam said the import of goods from India has decreased drastically from July-August.
Some goods arrived in September but no goods arrived in October. In November, only two goods trains arrived in Ishwardi.
AKM Nurul Alam, Assistant Commercial Manager of the Paksey division of Railway said regular contacts are being made with the traders and the Importers for increasing the income of railway by carrying goods.
Shah Sufi Nur Mohammad, Manager(DRM) of Paksey divisional railway informed, the goods trains with India are plying to and from India for a long time but it decreased in 2024 in compared to 2023.
However, measures are being taken to increase the income, he added.
