Bangladesh to import 120 railway coaches from India

Bangladesh Railway is going to import 120 modern carriages from India at an estimated cost of over Tk 425 crore, with the first consignment of 40 to arrive in Bangladesh in March.

This is the biggest-ever consignment of Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches to be exported by the railways, said a senior official of Indian railway ministry.

The export order of 120 LHB coaches include 17 air conditioned first class, 17 AC chair cars, 34 non-AC chair cars with pantry, 33 non-AC chair cars with prayer room and 19 power car coaches.

The manufacturing of stainless steel LHB broad gauge coaches for Bangladesh Railway is in progress at the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in Kapurthala in northern Indian state of Punjab.

“We will be sending the first consignment of 40 coaches by the end of next month and the remaining coaches will be delivered by March 2017,” said the official.

Export contracts are executed through Indian RITES Ltd, a multi-disciplinary consultancy organisation in the fields of transport, infrastructure and related technologies.

The contract agreement between RITES Ltd and Bangladesh Railway was executed on January 21, 2015, and subsequently between RITES Ltd and RCF on September 30, 2015 for supply of these coaches.

A high-level delegation from the Bangladesh Railway, comprising Feroz Salah Uddin, secretary of Bangladesh railways ministry, and other top RCF officials visited Kapurthala factory last month for inspection of the coaches prior to the dispatch.