BR to set up 575km fibre optic network

Bangladesh Railway has planned to bring its entire network under an integrated telecommunication system through setting up a 575-kilometre fibre optic network over 44 upazilas under 17 districts to build a safer and secure train communication system.

“The ministry has proposed a draft in this regard titled, 'Establishing and launching optical fibre-based telecommunication system in 575 kilometres of secondary line of Bangladesh Railway' to the Planning Commission,” said a Planning Commission official.The official said the railway will implement the proposed project from January 2018 to June 2020 with an estimated cost of Tk 78.13 crore to be borne from the national exchequer.

The project will soon be placed before an Ecnec meeting for its approval, the official added. It will also help boost the railway's operational efficiency and thus enhance its revenue alongside ensuring security in train operations.

Talking to the news agency, an official at the Ministry of Railways said the railway had first launched an optical fibre-based integrated telecommunication system back in 1992 with a Norwegian grant under which some 1,600 kilometres of optical fibre had been set up.

Then Bangladesh Railway in association with a private cellphone operator set up another 439 kilometres of optical fibre.

“The railway has recently set up some 400 kilometres of optical fibre and works are on to set up another 569 kilometres. But this was not enough to bring the entire railway under the network,” the official added.