CHATTOGRAM, Oct 16: Railway Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan said on Monday that the Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar rail line would be connected to the Matarbari Deep Sea Port.
He made the announcement during his visit to Dohazari on Monday, where he assessed the progress of the single-line dual-gauge railway track of 101 km long Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar via Ramu and Ramu to Ghumdhum.
After his inspection, Sujan left Dohazari on a railway trolley, travelling along the newly-constructed train route to Cox’s Bazar.
“I hope the rail track leading to Cox’s Bazar will be completed by October 30, although some work on new rail stations will still be in progress,” he said.
“The rail link is a multi-purpose project and it will be connected to the Matarbari seaport in the future.”
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to inaugurate the train service in Cox’s Bazar on November 12, and the tourist city is abuzz with last-minute preparations for the momentous occasion.
The trial run of trains on the route, initially scheduled for Oct 15, has been postponed to the first week of November to allow for the completion of repair work on the Kalurghat Bridge.
Minister Sujan also visited the Kalurghat Bridge to assess the progress of repair works and said the construction of a new road-cum-rail bridge will start next year in response to public demand.
The Minister also said that the construction of a new road-cum-rail bridge in Kalurghat will start next year The trial run of train from Chattogram to Cox’s Bazar is expected to be held on November 2 while the opening date is scheduled on November 12.
Earlier the trial run was scheduled to be held on October 15 from Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar as the renovation works of the old Kalurghat Bridge were going on.
Presently, the authority has decided to run the test commissioning directly from Chattogram.
For this reason the renovation works of the Kalurghat Bridge have been progressing fast to complete it by October.
Meanwhile, the 101 km long railway track linking works of the much expected rail line of Doahazari-Cox’s Bazar have been completed on October 9 .
The services will run with high-quality coaches for tourists in Cox’s Bazar. A new project has been taken to implement this and 54 coaches will be purchased under this project, which is designed with wide windows, sources said.
News Source: Daily Observer
