Installation of rail track on Padma Bridge begins

The installation of rail tracks on the lower deck of Padma Multipurpose Bridge began on Saturday, giving a big boost to the Dhaka-Jashore railway connectivity.

Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan inaugurated rail tracks installation works at Zajira end of the bridge around 12 pm.

Later, the railway minister told the media that they were working to begin the rail service on Dhaka-Bhanga section through the bridge by June next year.

The rail line of Padma Bridge project is around 169 km from Dhaka to Jashore and it now is being implemented by China Railway Group Limited, a Chinese government-nominated contractor under the China G2G system.

The cost of the project has been estimated around Tk 40,000 crore and of which Bangladesh government is financing Tk 18,000 crore and the Chinese government is bearing the rest of the project.

On October 14 last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the construction work on a rail link between Dhaka and Jashore under the ‘Padma Bridge Rail Link Construction Project.’

The first phase of the ‘Padma Bridge Rail Link Construction Project’ will establish a rail link between Mawa and Bhanga via Janjira and Shibchar through the Padma Multipurpose Bridge.

This will connect Dhaka, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Shariatpur, Madaripur, Faridpur, Gopalganj, Narail and Jashore.

Earlier, the prime minister opened the Padma Multipurpose Bridge on June 25 and later, the vehicular movement on the bridge began on June 26.