Online Desk : The much-awaited train service on Dhaka to Cox`s Bazar section will be launched by December 16, 2022.

“We hope that travel-loving people will be able to go to Cox`s Bazar by train from next year as construction of the Cox`s Bazar section railway line will be completed by December 2022,” Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan told BSS on Monday.

He said the government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken 10 mega projects for expediting the country’s development as well as railway network.

“Of the 10 mega projects, two are for railways–one is the rail link with the Padma Bridge and the other is the rail link with Myanmar and China under fast-track project,” he added.

The project is scheduled to be completed by June next year but people will be able to travel to Cox`s Bazar by train from December 16, 2022, the minister said.

The railways minister will visit Cox’s Bazar to inspect construction works of Dohazari and Cox’s Bazar railway section tomorrow.

According to ministry information, the 100.831-kilometer long Dohazari to Cox`s Bazar single line dual gauge railway line construction is a mega project of Bangladesh Railway and a sophisticated railway junction at Dohazari.

The Dohazari-Cox`s Bazar railway project will be extended from Cox`s Bazar to Gumdum near Myanmar via Ramu, which will be extended to China in the future as part of the Trans Asia Highways, it added.

Construction works for building of nine stations including iconic stations in Cox`s Bazar, at Dulhazra and Islamabad are going on.

The overall progress of the project rose to 62 percent, while financial progress reached at 32.22 percent till August 31 this year.

Ballast for railway tracks is partly imported from India and Malaysia, while necessary railways were brought from China, the information said.

SMEC International Pty Ltd is jointly responsible for supervising the construction work from Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar section as consultant.
Globally development works are being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Bangladesh is also facing the crisis.

Construction work of the railway project was also faced trouble last and this year.