No plan to hike train fare now: minister

Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan yesterday said they have not taken any decision to hike train fare as of now, giving a hint that it may rise in near future.

“I can tell you that we are yet to think about increasing fare. This is the main point. However, we have to adjust all things in near future,” Sujan told journalists after a contract signing ceremony at Rail Bhaban in Dhaka.

Bangladesh Railway (BR) inked a deal with a Korean company to buy 20 new metre-gauge (MG) locomotives, aiming to replace old ones and operate new passenger and goods trains to meet the growing demand.

Sujan came up with the comments when several newspapers ran reports that BR is mulling hiking passenger and freight fares to improve service and minimise loss.

The railway ministry has formed a committee led by a joint secretary and as per a preliminary proposal, price of passenger tickets would go up by more than 25 percent, said railways sources.

Sujan yesterday said the committee was formed to take information of train fare of neighbouring countries and fares of buses and other carriers, and to evaluate those to prepare a future plan.

“As a minister, I have sought report for better understanding so that a concrete decision can be taken. However, neither railway nor the ministry has taken a decision to hike train fare as of now,” he said.

Mentioning that train fare from Dhaka to Gazipur is Tk 18-20 while bus fare is Tk 100-120, he said people want facilities but raise questions when issue of raising train fare comes to the fore.

The minister said railway is a mode of transport for the masses and they will keep that in mind when taking any decision.

20 NEW LOCOMOTIVES

As per the deal, Hyundai Rotem Company, Korea will deliver the engines within 22-28 months from the contract's effective date at a cost of Tk 674.09 crore.

The 20 diesel-electric locomotives will be procured under the project “Procurement of 20 nos MG DE Locomotives and 150 nos MG passenger carriages for Bangladesh Railway” between July 2017 and June 2021.

Process to procure 150 passenger carriages is now at pre-tender stage, an official said.

Abdul Matin Chowdhury, the project director, and Hyung-Wook Kim, senior vice president of Hyundai Rotem, signed the contract. Korea's Economic Development Cooperation Fund and Bangladesh government are funding the project.

At present, BR has 178 MG locomotives, of which 139 have crossed their 20-year economic life, according to a brochure prepared for the signing ceremony.

Mofazzel Hossain, secretary to railways ministry, said the government is working to bring all districts under rail network within a particular time. So, they are procuring locomotives, carriages and constructing infrastructure.

With this procurement, they are going to introduce air-conditioned cabs for drivers for first time, he said.

Railway Director General Qazi Md Rafiqul Alam and Additional DG (Rolling Stock) Shamsuzzaman also spoke at the programme.

NO LEASE OF TRAINS AFTER 2020

The minister said they will not extend the lease BR gave to private operators to operate trains after 2020.

 “We have leased out 73 trains to private operators. After the contract expires in 2020, we will operate those on our own,” he said.

The minister said BR has to shoulder responsibilities for any misdeed of private operators. “This can't go on. We won't accept such uneven contracts,” he said.