Slow Progress of Tk 217 Crore Chhatak-Sylhet Railway Renovation
Built in 1954, the 34-kilometer Chhatak-Sylhet railroad line has long been the region’s main means of transportation and communication. It served as a vital transit route for Sunamganj locals traveling to Sylhet and enabled the countrywide transportation of products such as limestone, oranges, and bay leaves. Additionally, before maritime shipment, district-wide food supplies were traditionally transported to Chhatak by train; however, operations were first suspended in March 2020 under the excuse of the COVID-19 pandemic and were later put on hold because of a driver shortage.
The railroad was severely damaged by devastating floods in 2022, which led to a total end of operations and widespread theft of expensive sleepers, hardware, ballast, and steel rails during the long shutdown. Bangladesh Railroad started a big 2,17,34,04,369 BDT project in 2025 to repair the severely damaged line after it had remained inactive for four years in a row. The project, officially known as the Rehabilitation Project of the Sylhet to Chhatak Bazar Section of Bangladesh Railroad, was approved on January 2, 2025, by the Advisory Council Committee on Government Purchase. The Asian Development Bank and the Government of Bangladesh provided joint funding for the project.
On February 3, 2025, a formal agreement was signed giving the repair work contract to the contractual company, Mir Akhter Hossain Limited. The extensive project includes installing new sleepers, laying new train tracks, building stations, renovating culverts and bridges, filling in dirt, and repairing damaged railroad sections. Renovations are still on hold in several locations, including Gobindaganj, Hasanabad, Kalaruka, Madhabpur, Tajpur, Chaila-Afzalabad, Satpur, and Khajanchi, despite the removal of old lines from Chhatak to Sylhet and the completion of 85 out of 96 piling sites.
Only 25% of the construction has been completed, despite the project’s original date of August 23, 2026. This has caused a great deal of local dissatisfaction and serious allegations of corruption against the contracting company. According to locals, the project has moved slowly since it began and has experienced coordination issues with track elevation and track height alignment after road soil-filling during the 2022 floods. Since the deadline has passed, there are now significant concerns about when train operations will eventually start up again over the whole route.
According to Mr. Abul Hasan, President of the Chhatak Stone Traders Association, the railroad was essential for moving cement, limestone, sand, stone, and other commodities from Chhatak to Sylhet and nearby areas while also offering safe and reasonably priced transportation. He did stress, though, that the railroad has been closed since the floods in 2022 and that it is presently unclear when the ongoing renovations would be completed. His comments highlight the severe economic and transportation hardship that both local vendors and regular people experience as a result of the transit corridor’s lengthy slowdown.
According to Mr. Masud Parvez, Senior Sub-Assistant Engineer at Sylhet Railroad, 25 to 30 percent of the project has been completed, while the remaining 70 to 75 percent is still incomplete. According to him, work has been finished on 85 of the 96 piling locations, and culvert building and soil filling are moving along quickly. He noted that only higher authorities can handle crucial issues related to the extension and implementation timeframe, pointing the project deadline ended on August 23.
