BR has no plans to fully fence railway networks

The Bangladesh Railway has no plans to erect fences along its entire tracks to keep trespassers away from harms way.
BR officials said that fencing the 2,877 km railway network, as recommended by a parliamentary committee in September 2014 would be an  unrealistic exercise as the high costs were simply unaffordable.
On September 11, 2014, at least four people, three buyers and a banana vendor, were killed sandwiched between two running trains from
opposite directions close to the Karwan Bazaar level crossing.
Busy with their transaction on the tracks the victims got no time to escape as both the trains crossed at high speed.
The tragic accident prompted the parliamentary standing committee on railways ministry to recommend fencing the railway tracks initially in the capital and gradually the entire network.
Until now, BR erected fences along five km out of 38 km of rail tracks passing through the capital.
But people continue to buy and sell vegetables, fruits, fish and  eggs  sitting on the tracks by ignoring the fences.
New Age found short stretches of fences at Jurain, Gandaria, Khilgaon, Moghbazar, Tejgaon, Karwan Bazaar, Kuril and Airport areas, as the spots were identified by BR as most accident-prone.
On Sunday, New Age found vendors selling farm products seated on the rail tracks at Karwan Bazaar which were fenced only on one side and no fences were there on the other side having slums.
Jurain, where the tracks had been fenced on both the sides,  presented a far more dangerous picture with rows of vendors selling vegetables from inside both the fences while people standing
between the tracks and the fences waiting their turns to buy.
The buyers were seen leaving the tracks taking risks of accidents when speeding trains crossed.
Those living in slums beside rail tracks dry their clothes on the fences.
BR director general Md Amzad Hossain told New Age Sunday fencing the entire tracks in the capital could not be completed until now.
He said that the drives to evict all the occupants from the track side land
were going on to facilitate fencing the tracks in the capital.
He said that BR had plans to erect walls along the tracks only at places where the tendency to grab railway land was high.
Replying a question, he said,  erection of walls along the entire railway network was unrealistic as it would involve
high costs.

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