It is good to note that the government has taken various initiatives to upgrade and modernise the country's rail transport system. Also, the government is working to bring the whole country under rail network to facilitate transportation of people and goods at a cheaper rate.
Needless to say, our highways are over burdened with more vehicles they can handle, which is causing fatal accidents on a daily basis. We must opt for rail travel in order to decrease the number of road accidents. Hence, the government should take necessary steps to upgrade the railway to world standard so that dependence on road transportation can be minimised.
There is a need for a paradigm shift from continued
investment in the road sector, to developing the railway
network and improving its level of servicess
It is discouraging to note that none of the previous governments of Bangladesh took any initiative for the expansion of rail network in the country. Bangladesh Railway has been providing the services with a network which is not suitable for and oriented to the traffic requirements of the country.
The railway network, inherited from British Indian railways, received a relatively meagre allocation of resources in the past decades comparing to the road sector. In a land scare country like Bangladesh, there is a need for a paradigm shift from continued investment in the road sector, to developing the railway network and improving its level of services.
A modern railway does not mean new machinery and equipment only. For the new generation speedy trains we need good and solid tracks and digitalised signalling system as well as well trained manpower. While new generation trained manpower has to be recruited, the mindset of the old staffs will need to be changed and they will need extensive training to be able to operate digitalised modern rail engines and signals.
