*Literally
translates as 'our golden Bengal' : (a popular Bengali expression both in
India and in Bangladesh to denote the love for the motherland.)Literally
translates as ''our golden Bengal'' : (a popular Bengali expression both in
India and in Bangladesh to denote the love for the motherland.)
VISITS SINCE SEPT.1999:-
Number
of hits mentioned above is inaccurate due to counters from previous provider being defunct
for over two months without notice, consequent to which the starting number had to be
extrapolated on this counter from another source.
A quick roundup of the railways of
our other neighbor: Bangladesh : home of the Royal Bengal Tiger
Bangladesh Railways (previously East
Pakistan Railways) comprise of a total of 2,745 km of track, of which 923 km is broad
gauge, and 1,822 km is meter gauge (1998) .
Bangladesh
Railways are frequently plagued by problems like a severe scarcity of resources, disasters
and disturbances (strikes), not to mention that the country herself is just about a
quarter century old, which in itself leads to a separate set of problems, especially with
establishing priorities and finding/allocating funds.
Bangladesh Rail information is very difficult to
lay one's hands on, and there are no BR websites on the Net. However, several patriotic
Bengalis have put up nice websites about 'my beautiful country' and 'beautiful Bangladesh'
and the like, but railway info is very limited, if available at all.
Join me then, on a trip round Bangladesh Railways.
Good old IR has played quite a big role in developing and rehabilitating the BR, in fact a
few YDM/4 engines have been supplied to the BR , along with some freight and passenger
cars.
Several of the photographs on this
page are kind courtesy fellow irfca member Larry Russel, of the EMD Export fame. A link to
his site appears further on in this page.
India
recently reopened its rail link with Bangladesh (2000) after a long gap from 1965. Only
freight trains ran then, with both countries hoping to commence passenger train services
shortly.
The
passenger link to Bangladesh too reopened in July 2001, with services from Sealdah
(Calcutta) to Bangabandhu, via Darshana - Gede. Click on the thumbnail below to read a
press cutting about this inauguration. More pictures appear further down on the page.
BANGLADESH
RAILWAYS OFFICIAL WEBSITE: I
have been assigned by my associates in Bangladesh the onerous task of putting up on my
domain the now defunct official Bangladesh Railway website. This is a mirror site, and has
not been updated by the authorities in a while. I understand that some sort of
informal OK has been obtained at the Bangladesh end for this hosting of the BR site on my
servers:
CLICK ON EACH
THUMBNAIL FOR AN ENLARGED PICTURE. THEREAFTER HIT THE 'BACK' BUTTON ON YOUR BROWSER
TO RETURN TO THIS PAGE.
ALTERNATIVELY,
RIGHT
CLICK ON THE URL AND SELECT 'OPEN IN NEW WINDOW' FOR UNINTERRUPTED VIEWING OF THIS PAGE.
No site can be
complete without a map of the concerned railway. Although a map of the Bangladesh Railway
was not available, here is a map of the country itself, which might be of use to some:
More BR
Maps: As with all other railways, BR too has ambitious growth plans. The
series of maps below outline the growth of the system since 1998, and
take you right through projected route expansion plans till 2015. (Source:
Bill Mansoor, a Bangla railfan)
CLICK
EACH MAP TO ENLARGE
Bangla
Rlys.: 1998
Bangla
Rlys.: 1999
Bangla
Rlys.: 2001
Bangla
Rlys.: 2005
Bangla
Rlys.: 2015
1. A ng steamer of Amaar Shonaar Bangla Bangladesh Railways. Note striking
resemblance to our own Little Shantipur engines of class CS, once used on the ER. These
engines are no more in service. (Photo
courtesy: Bangladesh Embassy, Abu Dhabi, 1991).
2. A bg 0-6-0 of the Bangla Railway. Note striking resemblance to the
ubiquitous Pakistan Railways 0-6-0. These engines are no more in service. (Photo courtesy: Bangladesh Embassy, Abu Dhabi,
1991).
(Sorry, the photos at # 1 and 2 have
browned due to improper storage and age!)
3. Meet the YDM/4's twin sister: an Alco-built diesel on the BR. Note
striking resemblance to the YDM/4, except for the shape and position of the headlights. (Photo by Rolf
Stumpf.)
4.Another pic I came across on the web is this carbody diesel of the BR.
These engines were built for Bangladesh by India's DLW, based on a design from Henschel
(see # 9 below). The Indian DLW lineage is quite apparent from the shape of the side
grillework and the shape of the bogies. (Photo
by Rolf Stumpf.)
5. A decreipt mg steam engine of Bangladesh Railways, possible awaiting
breaking up. The origin of the machine is not very clear. While the sqarish firebox
enclosure os typically British, the smokebox front is typical of the American WD
locomotives. (Photo courtesy Larry
Russel.)
6. Looking almost identical to our own WDM/2 class of diesels, save for the
screw coupling and twin sealed beam headlight is this mighty machine # 6104 in a shed in
Bangladesh. (Photo courtesy Larry Russel.)
7. You could mistake this for a diesel on US soil. An EMD built diesel of
the Bangladesh Railways. One of the shed staff poses. (Photo courtesy Larry
Russel.)
8. Totally decreipt and badly in need of a fresh coat of paint is another
example of an Indian WDM/2 lookalike, save for a slightly longer short hood. The engine
has probably been scrapped, if the missing buffer and other elements are any indication. (Photo courtesy Larry
Russel.)
9. Although India's DLW built a few carbody type of diesels for the
Bangladesh Railways, (see # 4 above), the original carbodies actually came in from
Henschel, Germany. Here is one of the original Henschel machines. (Photo courtesy Larry
Russel.)
10. This one is even more American looking. While we generally associate
American engines with size and power, its quite amusing to see one of those formidable
beasts sporting a puny mg coupler and all! (Photo
courtesy Larry Russel.)
In addition to
providing us with most of the above pictures, fellow-irfca member Larry Russell has very
kindly also allowed me to link this page to the Bangladesh page of his EMD website, so
that we may have a complete picture of the railways in that country.
Click on the following url to continue your journey on
Bangladesh Railways:
HIT
THE 'BACK' BUTTON ON YOUR BROWSER TO RETURN TO THIS PAGE.
ALTERNATIVELY,RIGHT
CLICK ON THE URL AND SELECE 'OPEN IN NEW WINDOW' FOR UNINTERRUPTED VIEWING OF THIS PAGE.
A big thank you, Larry.
11. A m.g. d.m.u. on the erstwhile East Pakistan Railway (now Bangladesh
Railways), with two trailer cars, circa 1965. (Photo
courtesy John Lacey.)
12. An ad from English Electric Traction circa 1970 for 550 hp m.g. diesel
electrics for use in the Chittagong area on the erstwhile East Pakistan Railway (now
Bangladesh Railways). (Photo courtesy
John Lacey.)
13. A view of the
inaugural Indo-Bangla train on a small bridge.
14. An Indian built
WDM/2 with minor modifications, including fitment of twin beam headlights powered the
train. The engine is seen here just outside the works.
15. The return
journey: the Indian built WDM/2 running LHF (long hood forward) about to depart. Note twin
beam headlights and additional triplex marker lamps.
16. Another view of
the inaugural Indo-Bangla train on a small bridge.
I will continue to expand this site and add
pictures and info as and when they become available, so do be sure to check back and visit
again.
An Bangladesh
Railway enthusiast has put up an interesting page called the Bangladesh Transportation
Forum, which deals with all modes of transport in Bangladesh, including railways. Bill
Mansoor is the ardent enthusiast, and he is my exclusive source of information about
Bangladesh.
If you have enjoyed going through this page, take
a look at some of my other web pages as well, which cover predominantly Indian, but also
Pakistan Railways. Click on the following url. Select the topic that interests you most,
and click on the url below the title to view page.
