Bangabandhu Rail Bridge will open earlier than expected: Railways minister

Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan on Monday said that the construction work of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Rail Bridge will be finished ahead of schedule.

"As the work is going on in full swing, it will open to traffic before its scheduled time of August 2024," he said while talking to reporters after visiting the east side of the bridge construction project.

The minister said that 1.15km of the 4.8km long bridge over the Jamuna River is already visible. Eleven spans have already been installed on twelve pillars. The overall progress of the construction work is satisfactory, he said.

Replying to a question, Sujon said the bridge has a double-gauge dual-line structure. The trains will run at a speed of 120kmph on broad gauge and will take five minutes to cross the new rail bridge – the current rail connection takes around 40 minutes. As a result, the time will be reduced a lot.

He further said that the communication with Trans Asian Railway will be established through this bridge. Besides, train communication with neighbouring countries India, Nepal and Bhutan will improve. It will be possible to run more trains which will increase the number of domestic trains as well as inter-city trains and direct freight trains from India, added the minister.

The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Rail Bridge project is being built with the financial assistance of JICA and as of January 2023, the physical progress of the project is 55%.