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Published : 12 Feb 2025, 07:41 PM
Passenger trains have begun operating on the newly built Jamuna Railway Bridge, establishing a direct rail link between Dhaka and northern Bangladesh.
The milestone marks the end of train services on the Bangabandhu Bridge.
At 11am on Wednesday, the Silk City Express from Rajshahi became the first train to cross the rail bridge en route to Dhaka.
Passengers on board witnessed the moment as the train crossed the bridge for the first time.
Those involved in the bridge’s construction also celebrated the occasion while passengers captured the moment with photos and videos on their mobile phones.
Project Director Al Fattah Md Masudur Rahman said, “One of the two tracks on the bridge is now operational for commercial train services.
“Trains will run according to schedule along the 4.8 km bridge, and all train operations on Bangabandhu Bridge have ceased.”
He added, “Although the bridge has two tracks, trains will operate on just one for now.
“From the 18th of March, once the bridge is officially inaugurated, both tracks will be in use.”
Construction of the dual-gauge double-track rail bridge over the Jamuna River began on Nov 29, 2020, at a cost of Tk 97.34 billion.
The budget was later revised to Tk 167.81 billion, with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, or JICA, providing Tk 121.49 billion in loans.
The project was initially set for completion in December 2023, but the deadline was extended to December 2024.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, or ECNEC, approved the project on Dec 6, 2016.
The bridge is being built by the Japanese joint venture companies OTG and IHI.
Initially named the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge, the structure was renamed Jamuna Railway Bridge by the interim government in December 2024.
Meanwhile, the Bangabandhu Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge, which began operations in 1998, has been a crucial link for rail and road transport between the capital and the northwestern regions.
However, after cracks appeared in the bridge in 2008, train speed was restricted, causing inconvenience to passengers.
To resolve this, the new Jamuna Rail Bridge was built 300 metres upstream as the country’s longest rail bridge.
