THIS is a good piece of news that the railway authorities, which run keeping to the Railways Act 1890, are updating the legislation understandably to keep pace with the changed context of the modern world. But what appears worrying about this is that, as 抖阴精品 reported on May 23, the authorities are incorporating a provision to let private companies own rolling stocks to carry passengers and goods. The Bangladesh Railway, keeping to the provision, would allow private companies, as the draft of the law says, to use the railway line, the signalling system and other infrastructure for the operation of train services. While there are issues of concern in all this, what is further worrying is that the law would apply to the trial of the employees of the private companies in the event of any breach of the law, but the law stipulates no further action if the private companies would take punitive action against the employees of the private companies standing in breach of the law. What yet remains a matter of worry is that the provision that the authorities are planning to incorporate only constitutes a pointer to the failure of the authorities who are willing to let train services operation out to private entities as they fail to run the services properly.
The operation of even a handful of trains in the private hands would entail a number of issues that could be discomforting not only for passengers but also for the authorities. Such a proposition brings the fear of train services, even if partly, being held hostage by private entities. Such a situation is a well-known phenomenon in the road transport sector where the Road Transport Corporation was forced to shrink its operation, especially on long routes. If the railway authorities do not run trains on the routes given to private entities, passengers could very well be held hostage, leading to, at times, the breakdown of the train communication. Private operators of train services, if allowed to set fares, could fleece passengers and yet, at the same time, dish out poor services, violate passenger rights and ignore safety issues. Private companies could well exploit the railway authorities in terms of payment of fees for using railway property. Overall, the proposition could run to a situation where the Bangladesh Railway could keep incurring losses in the event of failure of private companies to pay for the use of railway infrastructure. Experts, therefore, say that the authorities should remain cautious in putting the proposition to work and the authorities must follow the best global practices as the operation of train services are reported to be in existence in India, China, Russia and some other European countries. No punitive action from the authorities in the event of private companies having dealt with the violation of the law still remains problematic as it would erode people鈥檚 trust in the railway, so far considered a viable, low-priced and safe mode of transport.
The Bangladesh Railway, or the government for that matter, should not, therefore, let the operation of train services out to private entities in an environment that is highly infested with corruption and irregularities that have let down the railway authorities for years. The government should, rather, strengthen the Bangladesh Railway, instead.
