Electric Rail Feasibility Study:No headway in six years

Bangladesh Railway's initiative to introduce electric train service in the country has not seen any progress over the last six years, thanks to indecision on selecting the route to be converted for electric traction.

More than 70 percent of neighbouring India's huge railway network has electric traction system. But Bangladesh is yet to launch the system, which is considered cost-effective and environment friendly.

The BR has recently revived the initiative to convert its two sections --Narayanganj-Dhaka-Chattogram and Tongi-Joydebpur -- for electric traction. It has submitted a fresh proposal to the Planning Commission to carry out feasibility study on introducing the system on these routes.

As per the proposal, the feasibility study would be completed by August next year at a cost of Tk 15.55 crore, according to BR officials.

Planning Commission is scheduled to hold a meeting on the proposal today, with its member (physical infrastructure) Mamun Al Rashid in the chair.

A railway electric traction system supplies electric power to locomotives and thus trains do not require any on broad fuel. An overhead electricity line has to be installed along the railway track to transmit energy to electric locomotives.

The BR operates diesel-powered broad-gauge and metre-gauge trains across its 3,019km railway network.

On the other hand, 45,881km railway line of Indian Railways, which is about 71 percent of its total broad-gauge network, has been electrified by March this year, according to the website of Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE).

CORE, which is responsible for electrification of railway tracks in India, plans to electrify all broad-gauge routes by December 2023.

A former chief electrical engineer of BR said introduction of electric trains in Bangladesh would reduce operation and maintenance costs. Besides, the trains are environment friendly.

The cost of an electric locomotive is much less than that of a diesel locomotive. The BR now spends a huge amount of money on diesel, the engineer said.

He said launching of electric traction system using the existing rail tracks is possible.

Another BR engineer said a diesel locomotive has around 40,000 parts, including a lot of moving ones. The maintenance cost of an electric locomotive is less as it has fewer moving parts.

LONG DELAY

Bangladesh Railway in February 2015 had sent a proposal to the railways ministry on carrying out feasibility study on converting Dhaka-Chattogram section for electric traction, BR documents show.

The ministry in June that year had asked BR to add Dhaka-Narayanganj section with the Dhaka-Chattogram section. Accordingly, the BR modified the proposal and sent it to the Planning Commission in August that year.

In January 2016, Planning Commission asked BR to modify the proposal again and fixed the feasibility study cost at Tk 8.12 crore against the proposed figure of Tk 9.58 crore.

Two months later, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave directives to introduce electric trains on Narayanganj-Gazipur section in the first phase.

Subsequently, Planning Commission in July 2016 asked BR to modify their proposal to conduct the feasibility study on Narayanganj-Dhaka-Joydebpur section, instead of the Dhaka-Chattogram section.

The BR again sent their modified proposal in June 2017. But the Planning Commission held the second meeting on the proposal in July 2019.

In the meantime, the decision changed again following the directives of the government high ups and Bangladesh Railway sent a revised proposal, a BR official said wishing not to be named.

A section of railway officials, who are benefitting from the decades-old diesel-powered rail operation system, are working against the move, three current and retired BR officials claimed.

A huge amount of money is spent for procurement and maintenance of diesel engines and diesel and those officials fear that they would lose their benefits once the electric traction system is introduced, they said.

"So, they are working against the initiative," a BR official said.

According to officials, once the electric traction system is launched, it will cut 35 percent operation cost and 30 to 50 percent maintenance cost. Besides, it would reduce carbon emission by 20 to 30 percent.

BR Director General Dhirendra Nath Mazumder said electric train was something very new for BR and that's why it was not possible for them to introduce the electric traction system overnight.

"Many things, including new electric engines, are involved with this system. So, introduction of the system is supposed to take time," he told The Daily Star yesterday.

Asked why it was taking six years to start conducting the feasibility study, Dhirendra Nath said he has to check documents before commenting on the reasons for the delay.