Rail project misses fourth deadline, Kurigram-Ramna passengers left waiting

Rail project misses fourth deadline, Kurigram-Ramna passengers left waiting Passengers on the 29-kilometre railway route between Kurigram and Chilmari's Ramna continue to endure slow journeys as a Tk 62.7 crore rehabilitation project has missed its fourth deadline, leaving trains to run at just 10-15 kilometres per hour. While battery-run three-wheelers cover the distance at 40-45 km/h, the only passenger train on the route takes two to two-and-a-half hours to complete the journey. The delays have also reduced services from three pairs of trains a day to just one. Bangladesh Railway launched the Chilmari-Kurigram railway rehabilitation and modernisation project in 2023 under two packages. The first covers the 19-km Kurigram-Ulipur section at a cost of Tk 29 crore, while the second covers the 10-km Ramna-Ulipur section at Tk 33.7 crore. The project includes track rehabilitation, installation of new sleepers, earth filling, construction of protection walls, and renovation of 12 bridges and culverts. Work began in November 2023 and was initially scheduled for completion by January 2025. The deadline was later extended to June 2025, December 2025, June 2026 and now December 2026. Biswas Construction Limited is implementing the project. Abdur Razzak, assistant engineer of the Lalmonirhat Divisional Railway, said rehabilitation of the Kurigram-Ulipur section had been completed, but only about 35 percent of the Ramna-Ulipur section was finished. "The contractor could not complete the project on time due to financial difficulties, as we were going through a fund crisis. The situation has now improved, and we hope the entire project will be completed by December," he said. Meanwhile, Rubel Islam, manager of Biswas Construction Limited, claimed nearly half of the company's bills for completed work remained unpaid by Bangladesh Railway. "Despite our financial difficulties, we have continued the work by taking loans to purchase construction materials. If our outstanding bills are cleared, the pace of work will increase further," he said. The Kurigram-Ramna route has five stations -- Kurigram, Panchpir, Ulipur, Balabari and Ramna -- but only the Ramna Commuter now operates. Konika Akter Mishu, station master of Kurigram Railway Station, said the train leaves Kurigram at 10:00am daily and often returns from Ramna 30 minutes to an hour behind schedule. Passengers said the reduced service had made travel increasingly difficult. Local businessman Sohannur Rahman said Chilmari is one of the country's poorest and most erosion-prone areas, where many residents travel to Kurigram and other towns for daily wage work. "For low-income people, the train is the only affordable means of transport. But the condition of the railway has made travelling extremely difficult," he said. Railway officials said trains would be able to operate at much higher speeds and additional services could be introduced once the rehabilitation work is completed.