Bangladesh has approved a Tk38.23-billion project to introduce the country’s first electric train service on the 52.32-kilometre Narayanganj-Dhaka-Joydevpur corridor.
Approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), the project will install an overhead electric traction system, procure 16 five-car Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) train sets and build a modern maintenance workshop at Joydevpur.
The service is planned to run every 30 minutes from 6:00am to midnight, with 60 daily trips and capacity to carry around 220,000 passengers a day. The project is scheduled for completion by June 2031.
The government will finance about Tk9.42 billion, while Tk28.80 billion will come as project loans from the Asian Development Bank and European Investment Bank.
The electric system is expected to reduce operating and maintenance costs, cut travel time and lower carbon emissions compared with diesel-electric traction.
