Editorial
Railways in a shambles
Much better performance needed to set things right
Bangladesh railways, performing well below the expectations of passengers for a long time, appear to be caught in a vicious cycle of mismanagement and poor supervision. A photograph published in this newspaper on Wednesday does show that even the safety factor, which gives the trains an edge over road transports, is being ignored by the railway managers. Obviously, when metallic clips that hold the rails to the sleepers are stolen, and yet the trains move along those tracks, the safety of passengers does not seem to figure prominently in the railways' operational plans. But that is exactly what has happened near the Mohakhali level crossing in the city. Locals complained that drug addicts have removed the clips. There may be truth in their observation, but what we find extremely difficult to comprehend is how could such matters go unnoticed? If the railway authorities cannot deal with some drug addicts how are they going to handle the organised groups of thieves and looters who are responsible for the present state of the railways?
Examples will make the point clear. At least 40 per cent of the land owned by the railways has already been grabbed by illegal occupants. And the same is true about its other assets as pilferage of rolling stocks could not yet be prevented. So, the poor performance of the railways is not without reasons.
As experts have suggested time and again, the railways need modernisation and better management. The railway authorities have tried to privatise certain functions and the move has been successful to some extent. But the basic conditions like passengers' safety, reasonably good services, maintenance of schedules etc have to be fulfilled if they want to keep themselves afloat in the face of stiff competition by road transports. Regrettably, the photograph of missing clips will not help attain their goal. Modernisation will of course take time, but the railway authorities have to give a better account of themselves right now, since such a huge number of people are still dependent on their service.
Are the railways up for the grab? Or will the railway authorities come forward and put an end to all kinds of corruption and outright theft and looting? These questions have become relevant in view of what we observe these days.
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