Revamp the Akhaura-Sylhet railway line speedily

The Akhaura-Sylhet railway line draws our attention because a good number of rail accidents have occurred here recently. According to a report published in this paper on February 7, with the derailment of a freight train carrying diesel, which derailed near Gutigaon village in Fenchuganj of Sylhet on February 5, the number of accidents involving fuel-laden wagons derailed on this section in the past five months alone stands at five. Reportedly, many accidents go unreported. Needless to say, these have incurred heavy damages to the the entire system, not to speak of the disruption in train schedules.

There must be something fundamentally wrong with this sector if train accidents occur so frequently. And not unnaturally so, since this railway line is more than a hundred years old. And it is not as if the authorities are not aware of the problems, or the danger spots have not been identified. Regrettably, the repair works have been merely piecemeal, rather than a comprehensive overhaul of the entire sector. What we fail to understand is why the overhauling work of the sector has not commenced as yet. The plan has been in the works since 2015, we understand, when the conversion project of the sector was taken up. The necessary fund has been approved by the National Board of Revenue nearly a year ago, but reportedly, the cost is being reappraised by the Prime Minister's Office.

It would be fair to say that the condition of the railway track on the Akhaura-Sylhet segment of the Eastern Railway is emblematic of the condition of the railway tracks all over the country. According to Bangladesh Railway's annual report, 91 train accidents, including 78 derailments, took place in the country in the fiscal 2018-19, incurring an estimated loss of Tk 5,696 crore. Although the data on the current year is not available, according to a report jointly prepared by two rights groups, at least 113 people were killed and 15 others injured in 105 railway accidents between January 1 and June 30, 2020. The statistics are grim enough to launch a revamp of the entire railway system in the country. What was one the safest and most comfortable mode of travel in the country is no longer so. The reasons are not far to seek. We would like to see the railways restored to its old form, and soon.