Faster Dhaka-Ctg Rail Trip: 24km dual-gauge double-line opens

Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan yesterday opened a 24-kilometre dual-gauge double-line from Laksham to Cumilla for train operation.

The 24km line is part of a 72km long Akhaura-Lakhsham section on Dhaka-Chattogram route, which is now being developed under a Tk 6,504.54 crore project.

This 72km section remained a bottleneck while the rest of the 321km rail corridor between the capital and the port city has already been converted into a double line.

Under the project, the existing meter-gauge single line is being converted into dual-gauge double line.

Journeys on this route used to take additional time because of the bottleneck. But after the opening of this 24km part, travelling time between Dhaka and Chattogram would be reduced by 10 to 15 minutes, project director Shahidul Islam told The Daily Star recently.

Taking part at a programme at Cumilla Rail Station, the rail minister said the entire Dhaka-Chattogram line would be converted into dual gauge in future.

A project approved in December 2014 for construction of a double rail line on this section and conversion of the existing track into dual gauge was supposed to be completed between July 2014 and June 2020.

But the main construction work only commenced in November 2016, around two years after the approval, and then the project saw time extension till this June.

Later, following the revision proposal of the project authorities, the deadline of the project was extended up to June 2023.

The project -- which is being jointly funded by the government and the Asian Development Bank -- witnessed 76 percent progress till July this year.