Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

Bangladesh Railway (BR) has sought more funds from European Investment Bank (EIB) to expand lines and procure locomotives and carriages for improved services.

A Japan-Bangladesh joint-venture firm will develop the depot area for the country’s first-ever underground metro rail, MRT-1, for which physical work is expected to start next month.

The state-run Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) has taken a move to bring all city-service buses under its jurisdiction, operating in Dhaka and adjacent areas, under an e-ticketing system by December this year, aiming to reduce the hassle of passengers and improve overall services.

Tomorrow's National Road Safety Council meeting will focus on three main agendas--National Road Safety Strategic Action Plan-2021-2024, banning motorcycles on highways and no registration to vehicles already declared abandoned.

Authorities have taken the initiative for setting coordinated speed limits for vehicles on all major roads to reduce road crashes, which has become a major concern for the country.

People’s wait for a dedicated bus service on the Dhaka-Gazipur route is getting longer as the authorities would require at least one more year to make the Bus Rapid Transit Line-3 operational.

The government, for the first time in the country, is going to develop a strategy and action plan for post-crash response care  for road crash victims.

 Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) is going to introduce a special service for tourists using two of its open-top buses, to promote tourism in and around Dhaka.

Panchagarh is home to some 11.79 lakh people, representing 0.71 percent of Bangladesh’s population, according to the recently published census.

The metro rail authorities will sign an agreement with BRTC on Wednesday to provide shuttle bus services to metro rail passengers as the country’s first metro rail service is going to be in operation partially from December, with 10 sets of trains.

During its fourth meeting in February this year, a taskforce -- formed to bring down road crashes and bring discipline in the transport sector -- decided to form a committee to fix the economic service life of commercial vehicles, meaning for how many years they can be used.

As the authorities have failed to solve the ages-old perennial problems in the road transport sector, relatively new elements such as uncontrolled three-wheelers and motorcycles worsened the situation further, leading to a rise in crashes and fatalities.

Despite a sharp rise in vehicle registration in the last fiscal year, the number of vehicles seeking fitness clearance has dropped to a seven-year low during this period, raising serious concerns over road safety.

The government is likely to simultaneously open 100 new bridges at the end of this month, giving a big boost to the country’s road network.

Civil works of the country’s first underground metro rail will start in December this year, after a two-year delay.

The section 25 of ‍Road Transport Act-2018 clearly states that operation of unfit and rundown vehicles is a punishable offence and one may face up to six-month jail or Tk 25,000 fine or both.

The Dhaka-Tongi-Joydebpur railway expansion project is a glaring example of how poor planning, bad decisions and lack of coordination among different government agencies result in huge waste of public money.

When the first batch of buses, launched in December last year to introduce a new system in the capital’s bus service, are struggling to provide expected services, two more routes are going to be brought under the system from tomorrow. 

Nine years behind schedule and costing 61 percent more, the Third Shitalakkhya Bridge is finally going to be opened to the public tomorrow.

Despite the opening of the Padma Bridge and the Madhumati Bridge, the country will not be able to reap the maximum benefit of the enhanced connectivity as the 129km road from Faridpur’s Bhanga to Jashore’s Benapole is still not ready for increased vehicular movement.