[🇧🇩] Bangladesh Railway

[Bilal9]

Bangladesh also sought EU support for manufacturing European-standard locomotives, coaches and wagons.

Officials said the government requested assistance to upgrade railway workshops in Saidpur, Ishwardi and Chattogram, including the supply of machinery and training to strengthen local capacity.

Banglkadesh has to decide first whether it will model its locomotives on European-standard or US standard locomotives, coaches and wagons. They are very different in practice and usage.

US standard locomotives, coaches and wagons are simpler and far more robust in comparison. Although standard gauge is used in the USA, unlike broad gauge in Bangladesh and India, carriages and freight infra are not very different.

Both India and China have long licensed and used US-made GE and EMD locomotives, though Indian high speed carriages have been modeled after European (German) LHB technologies. LHB joint venture passenger carriage products made in India were initially built at Kapurthala Coach factory in Punjab (who supplied them to Bangladesh), but nowadays these LHB designed coaches were built at other Indian coach factories like the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai and the Modern Coach Factory at Raebareli.

If Bangladesh decides to build passenger coaches locally according to LHB or other EU designs, that will be a good step.

However - Locomotives should be license built from American/Canadian designs, which most experts say, are suited to conditions in the subcontinent and are more or less indestructible. Even China license built GE and EMD designs for locos. For the limited number needed in Bangladesh, we can try assembly from parts first.

Here is an 80 year old Canadian Meter gauge GMD-Ontario-Made loco (EMD B-12) deployed in East Pakistan in 1953 or so - and still working pulling container and tanker trains between Dhaka and Chittagong port to this day. This was oldest diesel electric loco deployed in the subcontinent (yes, ahead of India as well when most of their locos were vintage steam locos).

The EMD B12 (classified by Bangladesh Railway as the Class 2000) holds a legendary status as the first diesel-electric locomotive series to operate in the region. Manufactured by General Motors Diesel (GMD) in Canada (Canadian division of EMD USA) between 1953 and 1956, a total of 40 units were delivered to the then Eastern Bengal Railway (later named East Pakistan Railway or EPR). Affectionately nicknamed "Dadu Vai" (Grandpa) by local rail enthusiasts due to their age, these meter-gauge locomotives are powered by a 12-cylinder EMD 567C engine producing approximately 1,125 hp.

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