The Ministry of Railways has taken an initiative to build an 81-kilometre-long new railway line, known as a cord line or alternative route, from Shyampur in Dhaka to Cumilla.
The proposed railway will be entirely elevated. Once implemented, it will shorten the rail distance between Dhaka and Chattogram by 80 kilometres and reduce travel time by one and a half to two hours.
Information and Broadcasting Adviser Zahed Ur Rahman disclosed the details at the government's regular press briefing on its activities at the Secretariat on Tuesday. The information was also provided to journalists in a written statement.
Zahed Ur Rahman said the project's preliminary estimated cost was Tk 839.01 billion. Construction will take four years after land acquisition is completed. However, the government’s highest level will make the final decision on whether the entire railway line will be elevated. The Ministry of Railways has initially proposed an elevated railway, with the proposal presented to the ministry on 5 October.
The adviser said building the entire line on an elevated structure would save around 322 acres of land. If the railway were built using a combination of embankments and elevated structures, the cost would be approximately Tk 735.77 billion. Opting for a fully elevated line would therefore add around Tk 10.32 billion to the cost.
Briefing journalists on the project's technical aspects, officials said the line would be suitable for electric train operations in the future. The double-track broad-gauge railway would be capable of carrying an axle load of 25 tonnes. It would have a design speed of up to 160 kilometres per hour and a maximum operating speed of 140 kilometres per hour.