Dhaka city planning, traffic and commuter train service

Presently a World Bank consultant group is preparing Strategic Transport Plan for Dhaka under Dhaka Transport Co-ordination Board (DTCB). Their transport policy and approach is based on a conception that Dhaka people will remain poor for ever and the plan shall be for a capital city of a poor nation. It is not unnatural for any Westerner not to appreciate the vision of the people. It is the responsibility of our people to dream, plan and build a futuristic slum-free city with all sustainable amenities, taking into consideration our climate, topographical condition, culture, public safety arrangement, healthy environment, sanitation facilities, utility supplies, ideal housings, waste treatment facilities, perfect transport network, and arrangement for mitigation of adverse effects of natural calamities.

Recent flooding has again alarmed the people of the need to think of a coordinated city planning, preserving all the wetland, water bodies, canals and rivers from blockage and filling. The water bodies may be linked to ensure natural flow of rain water. Roads could pass overhead these water bodies as may be necessary. The sides of these water bodies may be used for walking and landscaping. This is a common practice in many developed countries with land scarcity.

We shall need vast areas of land to build many garbage treatment, effluent treatment and water treatment plants. There must also be provision for movement of a large number of garbage trucks in future. No city can be livable without open space including parks, play grounds, cycling courses, public recreation space and the like, which will also eat into some space that could otherwise be available for roads for traffic.

It is a common knowledge that combination of surface road, overhead road, railway or subway transport and, in specific cases, water way transport, is a practical means of commuting in any big city in the world to provide the citizens the right of convenient and safe movement in the city. This is also one of the fundamental duties and responsibilities of the state. In view of the present public complaint about traffic congestion and probable increase in population in the city, there must be built massive additional infrastructure. Now we must find out what we can do immediately, possibly with our own resource, such as-

Immediate development of Kamalapur-Tongi section for commuter service: It may be emphatically proposed that the existing double lines between Tongi and Kamalapur may be used for commuter service after building necessary additional stations at distances from about 0.75 to 1.5 km. Work may also start simultaneously to develop this double-line into four-line track. As our people have not yet enjoyed convenient mass-transit train system in the city, this might give them the first taste of commuter train service. For comfortable service, the selection of passenger coaches must be proper with wide doors.

There are people inclined to think that about over twenty-two railway crossings in this section will aggravate road traffic if commuter trains run every three to ten minutes. They also like to suggest that Kamalapur station be shifted to Tongi. They may remember that the Dhaka railway station was shifted from Fulbaria to Kamalapur with a lot of fanfare. Though a number of unplanned structures are built here and there to diminish the beauty and function of this grand station, there is no sense in thinking of its shifting. Tokyo train station, probably the busiest in the world, where the famous bullet trains depart from and arrive at every few minutes, and a host of other long distance and commuter trains arrive and depart almost continuously, was built in 1872 and no one ever thought of shifting it. It is beautified and made to respond to the changing needs. All trains in the city are not necessarily running overhead. Rail crossing waiting time is optimally reduced by good signaling.

One vehicle is not to cross all the train lines. The argument that the total rail crossing time will be six hours or so is not for every vehicle. No crossing may block the traffic for more than 50 to 60 seconds at a time. Japan adopts "pedestrian first" policy. Thus the frequency of pedestrian road crossing can well be understood. In Dhaka also the situation might be similar some day. One must not come forward with simply negative arguments due to lack of experience. This sort of simple problem should not stop us from utilizing these vital existing facilities that might cost billions of taka to acquire. If the land is lost, no amount of money can buy it again. We should not think of repeating the mistake of shifting Fulbaria station and losing part of railway property and infrastructure.

Kamalapur-Narayanganj and Tongi-Joydevpur railroad with stations at intervals of 1 to 1.5 km: The Laksam-Dhaka line that is planned for shortening Chittagong- Dhaka distance by about 80 km may make Dhaka-Narayanganj route more important as such it shall be developed further. The train stations may not initially be costly structures, but they must provide for at least four lines to allow passage of fast long-distance express train while one local/commuter train may remain waiting at such stations. Most of the railway stations must be easy to access, have entrance level platforms, sufficient parking space, and provisions for buses to pick up and leave passengers, space for taxis to wait in line to pick up passengers, and other facilities.

New elevated light train: In addition to a light train line planned (as per RAJUK map) from Kaliganj to Gazipur via north of Uttara, Savar and other places there, another light train or elevated light train or trolley bus service may start from this line somewhere near north of Pallabi to touch Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Tejgaon and proceed further to Dhanmondi, Azimpur, Sadarghat and to finally touch Dhaka-Narayanganj line at some place between Saidabad and Gandaria and end up at Kamalapur.

Development of Tejgaon railway station: This is an excellent and convenient location for linking existing railway, future light train and bus or other transport network. Even if it is not possible to develop it fully immediately, no short-sighted hasty plan should be allowed to destroy its long-term potentiality. No land should be allowed to be grabbed. Any unplanned development in and around it must be stopped immediately until long-term comprehensive plan is ready and approved by all concerned.

Circular railway, elevated light train and bus: As in most of the big cities with land constraint, a circular railway touching all population centers of the city, from where long distance railways and roads move out tangentially or radically to link satellite towns may be built in Dhaka. Many new roads or railway lines may have to be elevated to save wetland and canals and rivers.

Elevated roads for guided trolley bus service or light train or monorail (in some special place) may be considered for next phase of mass transit in the city.

No wetland should be filled without comprehensive study. If necessary elevated roads or train lines may be constructed to distances of 90 minutes to 2 hours' journey from the city centre. This will help elimination of slums by allowing the slum dwellers to live in their own rural areas and lead a wholesome social life as committed in the constitution for all citizens. People can commute from such a distance and will finally get used to it as in developed countries with land constraint.

Manufacture of railway coach locally: The manufacture of coaches at the railway workshops which already undertook some manufacturing works may be given a serious consideration. Various rail line equipment may also be made locally.

Test track: To maintain or improve the quality of the railway service, the Railway authority should build and use a 3- to 10- km test track.

Development of water way: As also suggested by many, in addition to other mode of transport, we may fully develop our river and waterway transport system by utilising part of the existing infrastructure, which the government is also considering.

Rapid bus transit and subway: There are suggestions of rapid bus transit on surface roads with dedicated lines, but this is impractical in Dhaka, and for that matter, in Bangladesh, in view of limited land area for such wide roads. Subway may not be our immediate choice in view of risk of inundation of major areas of the city every year and our lack of technological capability to counter the effect immediately.

Management of traffic and establishment of continuous, safe foot path will ease much of the existing traffic congestion within the city immediately, but it will not solve the problem without mass transit. When public transport system will be developed, the rickshaws shall also disappear naturally. I think, we should not evade our responsibility any more and immediately start acting wisely before the city is turned into a huge slum in place of a slum-free metropolis.

Mustafizur Rahman, PhD is Chairman, The Institute of Development Strategy, Dhaka.