Transportation in Bangladesh

Jamuna Bridge

Railway acts as an important method of mass transport in Bangladesh. Many districts of the country are connected via railroads. Bangladesh Railway was mostly inherited from the British-established Assam Bengal railway system after the partition of India in 1947. Bangladesh Railway's headquarters are located in the southern port city of Chittagong, which had historically been the south-eastern terminus of the Assam-Bengal Railway. After independence from Pakistan in 1971, only a small length of new tracks were laid out.As of 2005, the total length of railroad is 2,706 km.Of that, 923 km are broad gauge (1.676 meter) tracks (mostly in the western region), while the remaining 1,822 km are narrow gauge tracks (mostly in the central and eastern regions). The gauge problem is being tackled by adding third rails to the most important broad and narrow gauge routes, so that they become dual gauge.A major road-rail bridge at Jamuna opened in 1998 to connect the previously isolated east and west rail networks.The border between India and Bangladesh cuts across rail lines, forcing them into the other country for short distances. This complicates border controls such as passport validation.