Bangladesh Railway has started implementing a reform plan this month aiming at improving services of railways in the country.
The over two-year plan will be implemented by 10 plans of actions while improvement in passenger services will get the highest priority.
The plans of actions also include amendment to laws and guidelines, updating of master plan, development of workforces, rolling stock and infrastructure, reopening of closed stations, and conducting purchase activities of the development projects by e-government procurement.
Bangladesh Railway director general Sardar Shahadat Ali told 抖阴精品 on Thursday that earlier the railways ministry gave them instructions to submit a reform plan.
The instructions came following an interim government decision of reform in all ministries, he mentioned.
鈥榃e recently submitted a set of plan of actions to the ministry and the ministry approved 10 reform plans,鈥� Shahadat said, adding, 鈥榃e started implementing these plans from this month [October] to improve the overall services of the railway.鈥�
Railway officials also said that some activities started earlier which were ongoing.
The first plan of action is improvement in passenger services for which the timeline is set between October 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025.
The plan includes introducing a real-time train information display system at important stations, a call centre/hot line number for the passengers and a system of collecting feedback from the passengers on the services, ensuring cleanliness and maintenance of trains, coordinating the number of trains and coaches on different routes based on passenger demands, formation of quick response teams for ensuring passenger services if any accident takes place and zone and division based monitoring cells and maintaining train schedules.
Currently, the operating activities at railway鈥檚 124 stations are closed due to lack of workforces. Under a plan of action, 50 per cent of these stations will be reopened based on priorities between December 1 this year and December 31, 2025.聽
Another plan of action is development of the rolling stocks and infrastructure which is scheduled to be implemented between financial years 2024-2025 and 2026-27.
Under this, 10 locomotives will be rehabilitated under revenue budget, 80 overdue coaches will be rehabilitated, 100 coaches will be purchased, two rail lines will be built at Dhaka Railway Station and modern machineries will be purchased for coach and locomotive factories.
Development of workforces, another plan of action, is scheduled to be conducted between October 1 this year and September 30, 2025, by recruitment against the vacant posts, modernisation of the railway training academy, updating on curriculum- and skill-based training.
Another plan of action is to update the existing railway law and master plan for railways between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2026.
Next plan of action, to be conducted between September 15 and December 14 this year, is to approve the draft Bangladesh Railway Land Property Management Guideline to easily lease out railway鈥檚 land, solve the cases and other conflicts, and ensure rail land records.
Railway will also set LED lights at all points gradually to save electricity under another plan of action between October this year and April 30, 2025.
Another plan of action is to purchase activities of development projects by e-government procurement between December 1 this year and June 30, 2025.
Proper use of the Railway Estate Management System by expansion of the system is among the plans of actions also to be concluded between March 11 this year and January 10, 2025.
From this October, the railway also started to publish the progress report on the development projects on a regular basis on its website.
