Foundation stone for Padma Rail bridge in April, says railways minister

The foundation stone for the rail link on the Padma Bridge will be laid in April this year, says Railway Minister Md Mazibul Hoque.

Inaugurating a new train to Rangpur on Monday, Hoque said the foundation stone will be laid after athe loan agreement with China is signed.

"The loan agreement should be finalised next month (March). After that, we hope the prime minister will lay the foundation stone for the rail link on the Padma Bridge in April," he said.

China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) signed a Taka 276.5 billion ($3.5 billion) contract in August last year with the Bangladesh government to build a new east-west railway via the 6.2km road-rail Padma Bridge.

The go-ahead to start construction of the 172 km Padma rail link from Dhaka to Jessore, has been given and CRCC  has been commissioned to construct the rail tracks, which is due to be completed by June 2022.

The project will be funded by the Bangladeshi government (Tk 29 billion) and through a soft loan from China (Tk 247 billion).

The project includes the construction of 66 major bridges, 244 minor bridges, 14 new stations and the procurement of 100 passenger coaches.

The tracks will be built for 120km/hour operation, and is part of Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) project, which aims to create an integrated freight railway network across Europe and Asia.

Construction of the Padma Bridge began in December 2014 and is expected to be completed in December 2018.