The estimated cost of the direct dual-gauge railway line project connecting Bogura and Sirajganj has jumped nearly 89 percent to Tk 10,391 crore, with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) set to fund 71 percent of the total project costs.

Lack of accountability is the main issue

Cox’s Bazar has to make do with just two daily trains against the huge demand, while travel time for people heading to the north by rail is longer than it should be because the Bangladesh Railway failed to get key projects going.

Bangladesh Railway in October 2007 took up a project to construct a new station building in Khulna and enhance the operational capacity of the Benapole Station.

After observing the slow pace of a project under which rail tracks are being laid on a 19km stretch between Faridpur and Magura, a report prepared by a government body has accused the railway authorities of serious lacking in their monitoring.

Bangladesh Railway is moving forward with its plan to build a chord line from Dhaka to Cumilla via Narayanganj to shorten the distance between the capital and the port city.