Bangladesh railway has been updated to ensure more modern facilities for its passengers. But still several issues are killing the government project at its core.
Painfully enough, the rail tracks of Bangladesh Railways (BR) have had a clumsy look for many years since they are mostly crowded by both rootless and powerful people on both sides. The authorities concerned conducted frequent drives to drive the encroachers away but those initiatives seem to have gone in vain, for they are once again grabbed by the above mentioned sections.
In this regard, the removal of illegal grabbers from either side of the rail tracks drew public praise, but negligence or ineptitude of railway officials and workers have failed to continue that initiative. As a result, accidents on rail tracks are a common phenomenon that whistles the tragic end of lives.
Most accidents happen due to slums, raw markets and other illegal makeshift installations beside the railway tracks, which are reportedly set up under the guardianship of some political elements. We urge the Railways authorities to extricate railway lands from the clutches of such miscreants. Barbed-wire fences are necessary on both sides to save the lands from further forcible occupation.
Railway police outposts throughout the country should be strengthened in order to safeguard railway property. Also, there is still a woeful absence of barriers at numerous level crossings across the country, for which hundreds of people are pushed to untimely death or are maimed for life. The relevant authorities should focus on this serious issue.
The introduction of booking or buying train tickets through electronic medium was a revolutionary step by the government, but inefficiency and alleged corruption of people engaged in the process have added more to public sufferings.
On the other hand, the platforms, too, are not as high as they ought to be, thus risking commuters' lives.All these matters need addressing immediately if the government really wants BR to emerge as a more modern and accomplished means of commuting.