Bangladesh Defense
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Beyond locomotive crisis
Bangladesh's rail-based container logistics is facing an uncomfortable contradiction. On the eastern network, a shortage of serviceable metre-gauge locomotives is disrupting the established Chattogram-Dhaka container service. Meanwhile, substantial investment in broad-gauge rail connectivity across
Beyond locomotive crisis
The untapped promise of Dhaka-Mongla rail corridor
Bangladesh's rail-based container logistics is facing an uncomfortable contradiction. On the eastern network, a shortage of serviceable metre-gauge locomotives is disrupting the established Chattogram-Dhaka container service. Meanwhile, substantial investment in broad-gauge rail connectivity across the Padma Bridge and towards Mongla Port has yet to produce a regular container freight service. This is more than a railway operating problem. It raises a national logistics question: can Bangladesh use infrastructure already built to create a second reliable rail-linked maritime gateway for Dhaka and surrounding industries?
The urgency is difficult to ignore. An investigation published by a local daily on October 15 reported that 18 of 30 relatively new Hyundai Rotem locomotives had become inoperative within four years of entering service, partly because of unavailable spares and technical support. According to the same account, only two of eight container trains were operating regularly. Eastern Zone container-train trips fell from 2,878 in FY2022-23 to 1,467 in FY2025-26. This undermines the reliability traders require.
The government has responded. On October 7, ECNEC approved a Tk 2,769.86-crore project to acquire 30 additional metre-gauge locomotives, with implementation scheduled through December 2029. Procuring these engines is necessary: the eastern network still depends on metre gauge. But new purchases cannot repair existing engines or guarantee early delivery. The long procurement horizon creates a compelling case for a parallel operational strategy.
AN INVESTMENT AWAITING A SERVICE: That strategy should begin with the Dhaka-Mongla broad-gauge corridor. The Padma Bridge Rail Link was expressly designed to connect Dhaka and Jashore through a new broad-gauge alignment; its official objectives include national and international freight and broad-gauge container trains. The Khulna-Mongla railway connects the port with the wider western network. Together, these investments create a possible rail route between Dhaka, Jashore and Mongla, subject to operational verification.
Yet the final step-from railway alignment to commercial freight operation-remains largely missing. Reports in September 2026 still described the Khulna-Mongla line as operating without regular freight trains. In effect, one part of the railway system is losing container services because of locomotive constraints, while another possesses substantial new infrastructure without sustained freight traffic. It warrants a corridor-readiness assessment, not assumptions about immediate cargo diversion.
The distinction matters. A through container train requires more than compatible rails. Bangladesh Railway must confirm available broad-gauge locomotives and suitable flat wagons, axle loads, signaling, train paths and locomotive rotation. At Mongla, containers need efficient transfer between ships, customs-controlled yards and rail wagons. At Dhaka, an inland terminal needs track access, handling equipment, storage, roads, security and customs arrangements. Every extra lift or unnecessary road transfer may destroy the supposed advantage of rail.
KAMALAPUR MUST NOT BECOME A CASUALTY: This question is particularly consequential for ICD Kamalapur, historically the centre of Dhaka's rail-linked container movement. Its present difficulties cannot be resolved simply by announcing that broad-gauge trains will arrive from Mongla. Its sidings and loading arrangements need to be checked for broad-gauge operations. Until that is demonstrated, the proposed corridor must not be represented as an immediate replacement for the Chattogram-Kamalapur metre-gauge service.
There is also a longer-term terminal-location issue. Kamalapur faces land and urban-access constraints. Dhirasram has been advanced as a future ICD, with a planned dual-gauge rail link from Pubail, but its cost, timing and access deserve scrutiny. Pubail itself also merits objective comparison as an alternative or complementary terminal site because of its location on the existing corridor. The national priority should be a functional, commercially accessible Dhaka inland-container network, not unconditional commitment to one location. In the transition, Kamalapur's operating capability must be maintained while options for a broad-gauge interface are assessed.
MONGLA'S MARKET MUST BE EARNED: There are promising signs at Mongla. The port handled 29,714 TEUs in FY2025-26, up 38.49 per cent year on year, alongside rising cargo and vessel activity. Nevertheless, this volume remains modest relative to the main container gateway at Chattogram. The opportunity is therefore to cultivate a viable additional traffic stream, rather than assume an automatic diversion of established shipping services.
In September, the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Mongla Port Authority discussed wider use of Mongla for garment exports. BKMEA's insistence on reliable schedules and competitive charges should be taken seriously. Shipping lines decide port calls according to cargo volumes, vessel economics and network connections; exporters choose routings according to confirmed sailing dates and buyers' deadlines. The navigability of the Pashur channel, maintenance dredging, vessel limitations, shipping frequency and empty-container repositioning are equally material. Rail will become attractive only if the entire chain from factory to vessel-and from vessel to consignee-performs predictably.
There is consequently a strong case for rail-linked container-handling and off-dock or container freight station capacity in the Mongla area, subject to customs licensing, port planning and commercial feasibility. Such facilities could consolidate garment exports, handle eligible import cargo, support container stuffing and de-stuffing, and reduce avoidable port-area delays. Licensing and investment must reflect actual terminal functions. The 2026 customs rules for private ICDs and CFSs make such regulatory diligence especially important.
Over time, a functioning Mongla rail interface could also serve suitable cargo from Jashore-Benapole, Ishwardi and northwestern industrial centres through the wider broad-gauge network. Such extensions should follow verified origins, destinations and train paths, rather than optimistic lines on a map. The longer-term opportunity is a multi-gateway inland-depot network, not merely a Dhaka-Mongla shuttle.
WHAT NEIGHBOURS AND GLOBAL PORTS HAVE LEARNED: India offers a relevant operational lesson. Its Dedicated Freight Corridors separate substantial volumes of freight from passenger-dominated routes, but their benefits also depend on terminals, wagons and customer-facing services. An August 2026 Indian government statement reported an average of approximately 443 trains a day on the two corridors. Under the Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal programme, 142 terminals had been commissioned, with private investment supporting rail-connected cargo facilities. Bangladesh need not copy India's scale, but must match infrastructure to paying demand.
A second lesson comes from neighbouring Nepal. In July 2026, a direct container freight train travelled from Kolkata Port to Biratnagar Customs Yard under a revised India-Nepal transit arrangement. Its significance lies in linking railway movement with the necessary customs and operational permissions, avoiding an unnecessary handling break. The message for Bangladesh is that agreements between railway, port and customs authorities are essential components of infrastructure utilisation.
China provides a further illustration: Ningbo-Zhoushan port moved more than two million TEUs by sea-rail intermodal transport in 2025, supported by scheduled services and inland dry ports. Its scale is not comparable with Mongla's, but the principle is universal. Customers purchase integrated services, not isolated railway journeys. A port-to-ICD corridor succeeds when cargo can be booked, monitored, cleared and delivered with confidence.
A PRACTICAL TEST OF LOGISTICS POLICY 2025: The National Logistics Policy 2025 already provides the institutional basis for this approach. Section 3.2 calls for rail links to ports, industrial areas and ICDs; phased metre-gauge conversion; scheduled freight trains; private participation; and optimum utilisation of existing infrastructure. Its seaport provisions encourage integrated connections and off-dock and inland-depot facilities. Most importantly, the policy requires time-bound implementation, not simply another inventory of proposed projects.
The government's five implementation working groups-covering multimodal infrastructure, investment, trade facilitation, digitalisation and skills development-could make the Dhaka-Mongla corridor a practical joint work programme. The infrastructure group should lead an operational audit; the investment group should test a terminal and train-service business model; the trade facilitation group should address bonded movement and inland customs clearance; the digitalisation group should organise container visibility across railway, port and customs systems; and the skills group should address terminal operations and equipment maintenance. Bangladesh Railway, Mongla Port Authority, customs, terminal operators, shipping lines and cargo owners must participate from the outset.
Private participation should be commercially explicit. Bangladesh Railway could provide network access and traction under an agreed haulage framework, while an appropriately selected operator invests in wagons, terminals or logistics services where viable and legally permissible. Transparent access charges, service standards, liability rules and long-term arrangements would be needed. India's experience with private container-train participation shows that state ownership of track need not exclude competitive investment in the freight business. Commercial viability must decide the structure.
FROM FEASIBILITY TO A WORKING TRAIN: A focused, 90-day joint assessment should be the starting point. It should map a physically operable route, check rolling stock and terminal capacity, verify a suitable Dhaka railhead, estimate the investment needed at Mongla and identify customs procedures. The same exercise should compare the full logistics cost of Mongla with Chattogram, including ocean freight, sailing frequency, rail haulage, handling, empty containers, road delivery and the financial consequences of delays. Any claimed savings or emissions benefits should emerge from this comparison, not from assumptions about railway transport being universally cheaper.
Within the following six months, the authorities should seek genuine volume commitments from exporters, importers, shipping agents and freight forwarders. If the operational and commercial tests are passed, one or two scheduled container train pairs each week could be trialed, initially using existing suitable facilities rather than waiting for an elaborate new depot. The pilot should be judged by train punctuality, end-to-end transit time, wagon turnaround, container dwell, delivered cost, safety and repeat customer demand. If tests fail, the design must change before further investment.
The Dhaka-Mongla proposition should therefore complement, not compete with, efforts to restore Chattogram-Kamalapur services and strengthen the country's primary port corridor. It would diversify maritime access, provide another choice to suitable cargo owners and use the broad-gauge network more productively. It would not remove the need for metre-gauge locomotive maintenance, nor guarantee that shipping lines will relocate services.
Bangladesh has spent heavily to connect its regions by rail. The next measure of success should not be kilometres of track inaugurated but containers moved reliably at a competitive cost. The locomotive crisis offers a reason to act urgently; the Dhaka-Mongla corridor offers a credible opportunity to test whether the National Logistics Policy can turn existing assets into an integrated freight service. The task now is to prove that proposition with a working train, a functioning terminal and customers who return.
Ahamedul Karim Chowdhury is maritime, logistics and supply chain policy analyst. Adjunct Faculty, Bangladesh Maritime University.
The untapped promise of Dhaka-Mongla rail corridor
Bangladesh's rail-based container logistics is facing an uncomfortable contradiction. On the eastern network, a shortage of serviceable metre-gauge locomotives is disrupting the established Chattogram-Dhaka container service. Meanwhile, substantial investment in broad-gauge rail connectivity across the Padma Bridge and towards Mongla Port has yet to produce a regular container freight service. This is more than a railway operating problem. It raises a national logistics question: can Bangladesh use infrastructure already built to create a second reliable rail-linked maritime gateway for Dhaka and surrounding industries?
The urgency is difficult to ignore. An investigation published by a local daily on October 15 reported that 18 of 30 relatively new Hyundai Rotem locomotives had become inoperative within four years of entering service, partly because of unavailable spares and technical support. According to the same account, only two of eight container trains were operating regularly. Eastern Zone container-train trips fell from 2,878 in FY2022-23 to 1,467 in FY2025-26. This undermines the reliability traders require.
The government has responded. On October 7, ECNEC approved a Tk 2,769.86-crore project to acquire 30 additional metre-gauge locomotives, with implementation scheduled through December 2029. Procuring these engines is necessary: the eastern network still depends on metre gauge. But new purchases cannot repair existing engines or guarantee early delivery. The long procurement horizon creates a compelling case for a parallel operational strategy.
AN INVESTMENT AWAITING A SERVICE: That strategy should begin with the Dhaka-Mongla broad-gauge corridor. The Padma Bridge Rail Link was expressly designed to connect Dhaka and Jashore through a new broad-gauge alignment; its official objectives include national and international freight and broad-gauge container trains. The Khulna-Mongla railway connects the port with the wider western network. Together, these investments create a possible rail route between Dhaka, Jashore and Mongla, subject to operational verification.
Yet the final step-from railway alignment to commercial freight operation-remains largely missing. Reports in September 2026 still described the Khulna-Mongla line as operating without regular freight trains. In effect, one part of the railway system is losing container services because of locomotive constraints, while another possesses substantial new infrastructure without sustained freight traffic. It warrants a corridor-readiness assessment, not assumptions about immediate cargo diversion.
The distinction matters. A through container train requires more than compatible rails. Bangladesh Railway must confirm available broad-gauge locomotives and suitable flat wagons, axle loads, signaling, train paths and locomotive rotation. At Mongla, containers need efficient transfer between ships, customs-controlled yards and rail wagons. At Dhaka, an inland terminal needs track access, handling equipment, storage, roads, security and customs arrangements. Every extra lift or unnecessary road transfer may destroy the supposed advantage of rail.
KAMALAPUR MUST NOT BECOME A CASUALTY: This question is particularly consequential for ICD Kamalapur, historically the centre of Dhaka's rail-linked container movement. Its present difficulties cannot be resolved simply by announcing that broad-gauge trains will arrive from Mongla. Its sidings and loading arrangements need to be checked for broad-gauge operations. Until that is demonstrated, the proposed corridor must not be represented as an immediate replacement for the Chattogram-Kamalapur metre-gauge service.
There is also a longer-term terminal-location issue. Kamalapur faces land and urban-access constraints. Dhirasram has been advanced as a future ICD, with a planned dual-gauge rail link from Pubail, but its cost, timing and access deserve scrutiny. Pubail itself also merits objective comparison as an alternative or complementary terminal site because of its location on the existing corridor. The national priority should be a functional, commercially accessible Dhaka inland-container network, not unconditional commitment to one location. In the transition, Kamalapur's operating capability must be maintained while options for a broad-gauge interface are assessed.
MONGLA'S MARKET MUST BE EARNED: There are promising signs at Mongla. The port handled 29,714 TEUs in FY2025-26, up 38.49 per cent year on year, alongside rising cargo and vessel activity. Nevertheless, this volume remains modest relative to the main container gateway at Chattogram. The opportunity is therefore to cultivate a viable additional traffic stream, rather than assume an automatic diversion of established shipping services.
In September, the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Mongla Port Authority discussed wider use of Mongla for garment exports. BKMEA's insistence on reliable schedules and competitive charges should be taken seriously. Shipping lines decide port calls according to cargo volumes, vessel economics and network connections; exporters choose routings according to confirmed sailing dates and buyers' deadlines. The navigability of the Pashur channel, maintenance dredging, vessel limitations, shipping frequency and empty-container repositioning are equally material. Rail will become attractive only if the entire chain from factory to vessel-and from vessel to consignee-performs predictably.
There is consequently a strong case for rail-linked container-handling and off-dock or container freight station capacity in the Mongla area, subject to customs licensing, port planning and commercial feasibility. Such facilities could consolidate garment exports, handle eligible import cargo, support container stuffing and de-stuffing, and reduce avoidable port-area delays. Licensing and investment must reflect actual terminal functions. The 2026 customs rules for private ICDs and CFSs make such regulatory diligence especially important.
Over time, a functioning Mongla rail interface could also serve suitable cargo from Jashore-Benapole, Ishwardi and northwestern industrial centres through the wider broad-gauge network. Such extensions should follow verified origins, destinations and train paths, rather than optimistic lines on a map. The longer-term opportunity is a multi-gateway inland-depot network, not merely a Dhaka-Mongla shuttle.
WHAT NEIGHBOURS AND GLOBAL PORTS HAVE LEARNED: India offers a relevant operational lesson. Its Dedicated Freight Corridors separate substantial volumes of freight from passenger-dominated routes, but their benefits also depend on terminals, wagons and customer-facing services. An August 2026 Indian government statement reported an average of approximately 443 trains a day on the two corridors. Under the Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal programme, 142 terminals had been commissioned, with private investment supporting rail-connected cargo facilities. Bangladesh need not copy India's scale, but must match infrastructure to paying demand.
A second lesson comes from neighbouring Nepal. In July 2026, a direct container freight train travelled from Kolkata Port to Biratnagar Customs Yard under a revised India-Nepal transit arrangement. Its significance lies in linking railway movement with the necessary customs and operational permissions, avoiding an unnecessary handling break. The message for Bangladesh is that agreements between railway, port and customs authorities are essential components of infrastructure utilisation.
China provides a further illustration: Ningbo-Zhoushan port moved more than two million TEUs by sea-rail intermodal transport in 2025, supported by scheduled services and inland dry ports. Its scale is not comparable with Mongla's, but the principle is universal. Customers purchase integrated services, not isolated railway journeys. A port-to-ICD corridor succeeds when cargo can be booked, monitored, cleared and delivered with confidence.
A PRACTICAL TEST OF LOGISTICS POLICY 2025: The National Logistics Policy 2025 already provides the institutional basis for this approach. Section 3.2 calls for rail links to ports, industrial areas and ICDs; phased metre-gauge conversion; scheduled freight trains; private participation; and optimum utilisation of existing infrastructure. Its seaport provisions encourage integrated connections and off-dock and inland-depot facilities. Most importantly, the policy requires time-bound implementation, not simply another inventory of proposed projects.
The government's five implementation working groups-covering multimodal infrastructure, investment, trade facilitation, digitalisation and skills development-could make the Dhaka-Mongla corridor a practical joint work programme. The infrastructure group should lead an operational audit; the investment group should test a terminal and train-service business model; the trade facilitation group should address bonded movement and inland customs clearance; the digitalisation group should organise container visibility across railway, port and customs systems; and the skills group should address terminal operations and equipment maintenance. Bangladesh Railway, Mongla Port Authority, customs, terminal operators, shipping lines and cargo owners must participate from the outset.
Private participation should be commercially explicit. Bangladesh Railway could provide network access and traction under an agreed haulage framework, while an appropriately selected operator invests in wagons, terminals or logistics services where viable and legally permissible. Transparent access charges, service standards, liability rules and long-term arrangements would be needed. India's experience with private container-train participation shows that state ownership of track need not exclude competitive investment in the freight business. Commercial viability must decide the structure.
FROM FEASIBILITY TO A WORKING TRAIN: A focused, 90-day joint assessment should be the starting point. It should map a physically operable route, check rolling stock and terminal capacity, verify a suitable Dhaka railhead, estimate the investment needed at Mongla and identify customs procedures. The same exercise should compare the full logistics cost of Mongla with Chattogram, including ocean freight, sailing frequency, rail haulage, handling, empty containers, road delivery and the financial consequences of delays. Any claimed savings or emissions benefits should emerge from this comparison, not from assumptions about railway transport being universally cheaper.
Within the following six months, the authorities should seek genuine volume commitments from exporters, importers, shipping agents and freight forwarders. If the operational and commercial tests are passed, one or two scheduled container train pairs each week could be trialed, initially using existing suitable facilities rather than waiting for an elaborate new depot. The pilot should be judged by train punctuality, end-to-end transit time, wagon turnaround, container dwell, delivered cost, safety and repeat customer demand. If tests fail, the design must change before further investment.
The Dhaka-Mongla proposition should therefore complement, not compete with, efforts to restore Chattogram-Kamalapur services and strengthen the country's primary port corridor. It would diversify maritime access, provide another choice to suitable cargo owners and use the broad-gauge network more productively. It would not remove the need for metre-gauge locomotive maintenance, nor guarantee that shipping lines will relocate services.
Bangladesh has spent heavily to connect its regions by rail. The next measure of success should not be kilometres of track inaugurated but containers moved reliably at a competitive cost. The locomotive crisis offers a reason to act urgently; the Dhaka-Mongla corridor offers a credible opportunity to test whether the National Logistics Policy can turn existing assets into an integrated freight service. The task now is to prove that proposition with a working train, a functioning terminal and customers who return.
Ahamedul Karim Chowdhury is maritime, logistics and supply chain policy analyst. Adjunct Faculty, Bangladesh Maritime University.
