Bangladesh
Bangladesh 4 locomotives of India will join the Eid journey
Dhaka, June 4, 2023 : Bangladesh Railways is fixing the management of the journey of domestic people by train on the day of Eid-ul-Azha on June 29.
Advance ticket sales have already been announced. Several decisions have been taken as part of the plan to ensure smooth running of intercity trains. Apart from this, it is said that at least 4 of the locomotives donated by India will be used to transport passengers on the Eid trip.
India recently donated 20 diesel-powered broad gauge locomotives (engines) to Bangladesh. They were brought to Bangladesh around the evening of May 23. The 3,300 horsepower locomotives have an axle load of 19.5 tons and an average age of 8-10 years.
According to Bangladesh Railway sources, the locomotives are first brought and kept in Darshana yard. From there Ishwardi was brought to the locoshed. Later 2 locomotives were taken to Central Locomotive Factory (Keloka) at Parvatipur in Dinajpur. The colors of the locomotives are being changed there.
It is known that currently the total number of locomotives in Bangladesh is 307. Out of this 110 are broad gauge and 197 are meter gauge. A total of 271 are active. The number of these locomotives is insufficient for 400 trains of Bangladesh Railway. Many of the remaining locomotives have passed their useful lives. As a result, most of the locomotives spend time in service factories.
According to railway norms, 20 percent of total locomotives should be in service and 80 percent in operation every day. But officials said, old locomotives often have to be taken to factories. The ratio of them being in service is now higher than in operation.
Bangladesh Railway Joint Director General (Loco) Engineer Md. Borhan Uddin told Dhaka Post that India has tested the locomotives. We are doing it too. Out of 20 locomotives, currently 18 are at Ishwardi and 2 at Keloka. We are painting Bangladeshi uniforms on locomotives at Keloka. Hope at least 4 locomotives will be ready before Eid. These will be added to the train fleet for the Eid journey.
It is learned that on November 30 last year, a 7-member inspection team from the Ministry of Railways went to India to see the donated locomotives. They submitted a report to the Ministry of Railways on December 15 last year.
The report said that the inspection team saw 34 locomotives in India. Out of these, 20 locomotives were selected for donation after evaluating the technical aspects. Locomotives are selected to be compatible with the overall railway network of Bangladesh including railways, stations, signal systems.
