Bangladesh Railway: Covid strikes hard, losses pile up

The pandemic took a huge toll on Bangladesh Railway as movement curbs over a significant period left the state-run operator with Tk 2,063 crore losses in the 2019-20 fiscal year.
The loss was Tk 419 crore higher than the previous year, when it was Tk 1,644 crore, shows BR data revealed recently.
With the latest amount, BR incurred Tk 6,670.6 crore losses in just four years since 2016-17.
Although BR's financial report of 2020-21 fiscal year has not been completed, railways officials fear that the losses would continue as the operations of passenger trains remained suspended for a significant period.
The hike in fuel price early this month also means that the railways would keep losing money as the authorities have decided not to raise tickets' prices for now.
However, transport experts said although the pandemic had a role in increasing the losses, lack of accountability, professionalism, and poor services of BR are the main reasons behind the losses.
The BR operates 360 passenger and freight trains on its 3,093km network across the country.
While the number of passengers has risen over the years and it has got a huge investment in the last decade, the sector has failed to ensure expected service quality, experts said.
LOSSES PILE UP
BR earned TK 1,125.8 crore in the 2019-20 fiscal year, while total operating expenses were Tk 31,88.9 crore, according to BR's Information Book-2020.
Covid-19 hit Bangladesh in March last year and the operation of passenger trains remained suspended for over two months from March 23 to curb the spread of the virus.
The effect of this suspension was visible in the financial report.
BR transported 63.99 million passengers in the 2019-20 fiscal year, compared to 92.71 million the previous year.
Even though all passenger trains -- around 90 percent of the railway fleet -- remained suspended for more than two months, operating expenses saw a rise in the 2019-20 fiscal compared to the previous year.
The total operating expenses for 2019-20 amounting to Tk 3188.9 crore, was a 4.34 percent increase compared to the expenses of 2018-19 amounting to Tk 3,050.6 crore.
Although the operation of freight trains continued amid the pandemic, the number of goods transported by BR reduced significantly in the 2019-20 fiscal.
The freight carried was 3,179.68 thousand tonnes in 2019-20 against 3,959.25 thousand tonnes in 2018-19, shows its books.
On the report on 2020-21 fiscal year, a top official of BR, who deals with finance-related issues, said, "... the preliminary report shows BR will incur further losses in the 2020-21 fiscal year. But, it may not be as big as the 2019-20 fiscal year, because of the rise in income from the operation of freight trains."
After the second wave of Covid-19 in March this year, the operation of passenger trains remained suspended again for a long time.
WHAT DO EXPERTS AND AUTHORITIES SAY?
Transport expert Prof Md Hadiuzzaman said the government was investing a huge amount of money every year but it kept the losing concerns like other public entities, which was very unfortunate.
"Because they [BR officials] lack accountability. There is a lacking of professionalism in their service and they failed to create a culture that requires to give people proper services," he told The Daily Star yesterday.
"Why will railway continue to incur losses when the demand for railway services is rising sharply?" he questioned.
Contacted, Sardar Shahadat Ali, additional director general (operations) of BR, said around 80 percent of the earnings of BR come from passenger trains.
"So, suspension of passenger trains amid the pandemic hit the railways income hard, which continued in the last fiscal year too," he told this newspaper yesterday.
He said income from freight trains suffered as there were less than expected imports from India at that time. However, it has bounced back in 2020-21.
Asked about the allegations of poor service and lack of accountability, Shahadat said this was a "policy issue" and he was not the competent authority to respond to the particular question.
BR's Director General Dhirendra Nath Majumder could not be reached for comments over the phone. Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan and Rail Secretary Salim Reza are now abroad.
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