Editorial
Modernise the railway
Corporatisation may be a way forward
ALTHOUGH the number of railway passengers has dwindled because of the improvement in other areas of surface transport in Bangladesh, in terms of actual volume more than 45 million avail the railway to get about within the country annually, a substantial figure indeed given the size of the railway. Yet Bangladesh railway has seen very little substantive improvement to speak of. Apart from occasional addition of imported coaches one finds very little to write home about by way of its development. The basic infrastructure remains archaic.
Very few will contest the fact that rail travel remains the safest and perhaps one of the cheapest mode of transport in the country, and yet it continues to run up huge losses every year; added to the declining state of passenger service Bangladesh Railway indeed is a pathetic picture.
While one cannot take issue with the comments of the railway secretary that the sick service cannot be revived without turning into a business organisation, and that it is likely to be changed into a limited company, what begs the question is why has the reality taken so long to dawn on the policy makers? Can the pressing need for improvement wait for the 44 months that will be needed to complete the study that has been undertaken from October 2007? We would like to suggest that the study be completed sooner than the projected timeframe.
But, while bringing in all the necessary reforms is all very good, the fact remains that unless the standard of service is modernised, the state-run enterprise may well have to continue in the red for many more years.
For one thing, the manpower needs rationalisation, apart from inculcating a service orientated attitude in them. More people should be recruited if need be, but based on strict professional criteria. And this is where we find a contradiction in the railway secretary's position when he levels criticism at the railway staff's poor service records yet unwilling to retrench them because of, according to him, their 'efficiency'.
The full potential of our railway can be realised if the proposed corporatisation leads to the improvement of passenger service including on board service, as well over the counter, punctuality, regular maintenance of the tracks and upkeep of the bogies and compartments. In this regard certain services can be privatised as is being done now in respect of a few passenger trains running between the capital and other cities, with good results.
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