Scraps plan to bring DEMU, AC carriages for railway
The government has finally decided to import 120 broad-gauge (BG) non-AC passenger carriages, instead of 10 sets (comprising three units) of Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) trains, and 70 BG passenger AC carriages, for the Bangladesh Railway (BR), under the $800 million Indian line of credit (LoC).
Bangladesh will place the proposal to the Indian government, in the 5th review meeting between Economic Relations Division (ERD), the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, and Exim Bank of India, to be held at NEC II on Monday.
The ERD sources said the estimated cost of 10 DEMU trains is $ 35.86 million, and that of 70 BG passenger AC carriages is $ 77.29 million. The cost of 120 non-AC BG passenger carriages will be $ 110 million, which will be little higher than the total costs of DEMU and non-AC BG passenger trains.
The Bangladesh Railway, the implementing agency, asked the PMO to change the project as the project evaluation committee (PEC) cancelled the tender for the second time, on August 30.
According to sources, the PEC had to cancel it as the BR was unable to procure 10 sets of DEMU trains, because of technical complexities. Sources also confirmed that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved the proposal, in principle, recently, and asked to undertake another project, suitable for the BR and useful for passengers, particularly in the country’s western zone.
The implementing agency was unable to bring the DEMU trains, because of the girders of the Hardinge Bridge over the Padma. Besides, there was no other way of bringing the DEMUs from India, as the eastern zone still has metre-gauge tracks.
On the other hand, the DEMU trains do not fully fit the BR platform specifications, the sources added.
The planning commission (PC) has raised objections over the procurement of 70 BG passenger AC carriages, saying it would not be cost-effective.
According to sources in the PC, the BG carriages can only be operated in the western zone, because of the broad-gauge tracks there. But BG passenger AC carriages would not be useful for the western zone, as passengers may avoid travelling by AC coaches, since ticket prices would be high.
The commission, therefore, recommended procurement of non-AC carriages instead of AC carriages, and the implementing agency also proposed to import non-AC BG passenger carriages, instead of AC coaches.
-With The Independent input
