Lesson 2/45 min
Railways
Railway history
- The world's first railway: 1825, in the United Kingdom (Khandokar's GK)
- Lord Dalhousie started the first train in the subcontinent in 1853
- First railway line in the country: 15 November 1862, from Darshana to Jagati (Kushtia)
Watch out: Zubair's GK gives 1820 for the world's first railway. The correct year is 1825 (the Stockton–Darlington line in the UK). Zubair's GK also gives Dhaka as the headquarters of the eastern zone, and a printed answer key says the same; the correct answer is Chattogram.
Bangladesh Railway: structure and places
- The rail body is Bangladesh Railway; overall headquarters in Dhaka
- Two zones: East (headquarters Chattogram) and West (headquarters Rajshahi)
- Largest railway station: Kamalapur (architect Bob Boughey)
- Largest railway workshop: Saidpur (Nilphamari)
- Chilahati railway junction: in Nilphamari district
- There is no rail line in Barishal division; exam answers in the book also list Meherpur and Patuakhali as districts without a line
- Rajshahi division has the most broad-gauge track
- Three kinds of track: broad gauge, metre gauge and dual gauge
- First woman train driver: Salma Khatun
- DEMU = Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (a Dhaka University answer)
Longest route and cross-border trains
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Longest rail route (by distance) | Dhaka–Panchagarh 639 km; trains Panchagarh Express and Ekota Express |
| Khulna–Kolkata | Bandhan Express |
| New Bangladesh–India train (exam answer) | Mitali Express |
| Dhaka–Noakhali direct | Upakul Express (exam answer) |
| First Dhaka–Cox's Bazar intercity (exam answer) | Parjatak Express (10 January 2024 on the web) |
New rail links
| Project | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dohazari–Ramu–Cox's Bazar–Ghumdhum | In the book: Dohazari–Ramu–Cox's Bazar 101 km; Ramu–Myanmar border 29 km; 130 km in all; a link between the Dhaka–Cox's Bazar line, the Silk Road and the Trans-Asian Railway |
| Dhaka–Payra port 240 km (book plan) | Budget Tk 60,000 crore; support from China Railway Construction; finish target 2024; Barishal division would get rail for the first time |
| Padma rail link | Dhaka–Bhanga 10 October 2023; Dhaka–Jashore–Benapole 24 December 2024 |
Watch out: The Dohazari–Cox's Bazar part (about 101 km) of the Cox's Bazar line is running, but work on Ramu–Ghumdhum has stalled, so the book's ‘130 km, started 2023’ is not fully right. The Dhaka–Payra line was not finished in 2024; we could not verify its current status.
Watch out: On ‘longest rail bridge’ the book's answer, the Hardinge Bridge, is now out of date; the Jamuna Railway Bridge (4.8 km) is in use. See the bridges topic for details.
Check yourself
Where is the railway's largest workshop?
At a glance
- 1
The country's first rail line: 15 November 1862, Darshana–Jagati (Kushtia); the world's first was 1825 (UK).
- 2
East zone headquarters Chattogram, West zone Rajshahi; largest station Kamalapur; largest workshop Saidpur.
- 3
Barishal division has no rail line; there are three kinds of track: broad, metre and dual gauge.
- 4
Longest route Dhaka–Panchagarh 639 km; Khulna–Kolkata Bandhan Express.
- 5
Padma rail link: Dhaka–Bhanga 10 October 2023, Dhaka–Jashore–Benapole 24 December 2024.