The location of Bangladesh Railway’s South Zone headquarters, either in Faridpur or Khulna, has not yet been finalized. While the headquarters for the other three zones have already been determined, the decision on the South Zone headquarters has been delayed due to complications.
However, a recently formed committee of Bangladesh Railway has submitted a report to the Director General of Bangladesh Railway, recommending Khulna as the location for the South Zone headquarters. The report, which was sent to the Director General’s office on Thursday, also recommends that the divisional office be located in Khulna.
Asom Kumar Talukdar, the General Manager of Bangladesh Railway’s West Zone in Rajshahi, formed the nine-member committee on September 12, 2023, at the direction of the Director General of Bangladesh Railway. The committee submitted its report on September 27.
Talukdar said that the committee has submitted its opinion on establishing the headquarters in the South Zone. “We have sent it to the Director General’s office,” he said.
According to Bangladesh Railway officials, the decision on which district to house the headquarters, Khulna or Faridpur, has been causing confusion for several years. Former railway ministers, railway directors, and lawmakers have all influenced the decision, which is why the final decision on the location of the South Zone headquarters of Bangladesh Railway has not been made nine years after the instruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
According to Bangladesh Railway sources, on October 23, 2014, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited the Ministry of Railways. At the time, she said that the two railway zones should be divided into four zones for smooth train operations. As a result, a committee was formed on December 11, 2016, under the chairmanship of then-Railways Minister Mujibul Haque. The committee recommended dividing the jurisdiction of Bangladesh Railway into four zones and nine operating divisions. At that time, the headquarters of Bangladesh Railway’s South Zone was set in Faridpur, and its operating divisions were set in Rajshahi, Jessore, and Barisal. However, the then-Director General of Bangladesh Railway recommended four zones and eight operating divisions. His recommended headquarters for the South Zone was set in Khulna and its operating divisions were set in Khulna and Faridpur.
Bangladesh Railway officials said that a separate recommendation was made in light of the recommendations of the two individuals. This recommendation proposed changes to the structure of Bangladesh Railway’s North Zone and South Zone. The headquarters of the South Zone was set in Faridpur and its operating divisions were set in Khulna and Rajbari. According to the latest proposal, human resources recruitment and administrative structure were being prepared. However, complications arose when three influential lawmakers from Khulna and Bagerhat proposed that the headquarters be located in Khulna in March. As a result, a new committee was formed on September 12 at the direction of the Director General of Bangladesh Railway.
The new committee has presented some arguments for locating the South Zone headquarters of Bangladesh Railway in Khulna. The committee members said that the East Zone and West Zone of Bangladesh Railway are located in Chittagong and Rajshahi, respectively. It is therefore more logical for the headquarters of the two newly created zones to be located in divisional cities. In addition, Khulna is an old commercial city. Currently, there are plans to expand the railway line from Khulna to Mongla, Khulna to Bagerhat, Nawar from Munshiganj, Darshana from Meherpur, Khulna to Fakirhat, and Bagerhat. In the future, the railway line will be expanded to the districts of Madaripur, Shariatpur, Barisal, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Barguna, and Jhalakathi. Khulna is located in the middle of these regions. Therefore, if the headquarters of the South Zone is located in Khulna, it will be easier to monitor the railway. In addition, relief trains can be sent quickly to monitor the construction of railway lines in the districts of Kushtia, Chuadanga, Jessore, Narail, Bagerhat, and Satkhira, and to carry out rescue operations in the event of accidents.
The committee members argued that there is no need to acquire new land for the construction of regional and divisional offices in Khulna, as there are many railway buildings and land in the city. They also recommended that the manpower structure that was determined for the headquarters in Faridpur be retained for the Khulna region.
A committee member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that since the Minister of Railways had directly made a recommendation, the relevant parties in the new committee were looking at going outside of that recommendation differently. As a result, the committee members did not make any separate recommendations.
