Bangladesh Trans Asian Railway loses priority as Bangladesh-Myanmar ties remain strained

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The Bangladesh rail authorities have dropped the Trans Asian Railway (TAR) from its priority as bilateral relations with Myanmar remain under strains and cooperation from the neighbouring country is close to zero.

The railway connectivity to carry goods between Bangladesh, India, China, Thailand and Malaysia through Myanmar has for now been put on hold, according to Bangladesh Railways.

A Tk18,034 crore fast track railway project from Chittagong’s Dohazari to Cox’s Bazar via Ramu to Gundhum near Myanmar had been in the cards, according to the railway authorities.

The project, approved in 2010, was supposed to extend the existing rail line from Dohazari and connect to multiple routes.

The connection from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar was expected to extend to Ramu and then to Gundhum, paving the way for a railway network to China, Thailand and Malaysia.

“Myanmar did not undertake any railway project to connect Bangladesh to Gundhum,” Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan told Dhaka Tribune.

“It will be meaningless to continue our part of the project if Myanmar continues to be regressive,” he added.

Meanwhile, Dhaka is likely to be connected with Cox’s Bazar by this year as 65% of the construction is already complete.

The minister said that the railway authorities expected to complete about 100 kilometres of the railway by this year, but the 28.75km portion from Ramu to Gundhum would remain untouched until bilateral ties with Myanmar improved.

“Once bilateral relations between the two countries improve, construction of the Ramu-Gundhum rail track will be completed under another project considering the importance of international rail connectivity,” he added.

Connectivity expert Dr Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem echoed the minister’s remarks on building railway connectivity till Myanmar until there is cooperation from that end.

“The suspension of the Ramu-Gundhum part of the Dohazari to Cox's Bazar rail link project is a wise decision as it will not bring any benefit if it is not extended to Myanmar,” he said.

“Once bilateral relations between the two countries improve, construction of the Ramu-Gundhum rail track will be completed under another project considering the importance of international rail connectivity,” he added.

Connectivity expert Dr Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem echoed the minister’s remarks on building railway connectivity till Myanmar until there is cooperation from that end.

“The suspension of the Ramu-Gundhum part of the Dohazari to Cox's Bazar rail link project is a wise decision as it will not bring any benefit if it is not extended to Myanmar,” he said.
“As Myanmar is reluctant politically to make a railway connection for trade and services, Bangladesh should think about an alternative route through Indian states to connect with the southern corridor of TAR like Thailand, and the southern Chinese province of Yunnan, '' said Moazzem, research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

“To execute an alternative route through the Indian states, Bangladesh should engage with India to undertake a successful tri-nation initiative among Bangladesh-India and Myanmar,” he opined.

What is TAR?

The TAR Network agreement was signed on November 10, 2006, by Asian nations as part of a United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) effort to build a transcontinental railway network between Europe and Pacific ports in China.

Initially, the proposed three routes to pass through Bangladesh are:

Route 1 - Gede (West Bengal, India) Darshana (Chuadanga, Bangladesh)-Ishwardy-Jamuna Bridge-Joydevpur-Akhaura-Chittagong-Dohazari-Gundam-Myanmar.

Route2 - Singabad (West Bengal)-Rajshahi (Bangladesh)-Iswardy-Jamuna Bridge-Jadavpur-Akhaura-Chittagong-Dohazari-Gundhum-Myanmar.

Route 3 - Radikkapur (West Bengal)-Dinajpur-Ishwardy-Jamuna Bridge-Joydevpur-Akhaura-Chittagong-Dohazari-Gundhum-Myanmar. Instead of Gundhum, Akhaura-Agartala rail link is being considered as an alternative route.

“The first initiative toward a Trans-Asian rail was taken in 1992. Even though Bangladesh is now emphasizing railways, the country is far behind compared to many other signatory countries under the TAR initiative,” said Dr Golam Moazzem.

Multi-dimensional factors at play behind Myanmar’s unwillingness

There are multi-dimensional geo-political factors along with the Rohingya crisis behind Myanmar’s lack of cooperation with Bangladesh, railway officials say.

As a result, railway links between Dhaka-Yunnan/Kunming and Dhaka-Bangkok or Dhaka- Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur through Mandalay using the Ramu-Gundhum gateway is not a possibility yet.

The route is part of the southern corridor of TAR connecting Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and the southern Chinese province of Yunnan with Turkey through Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Iran and Sri Lanka.

Moreover, the Laos-China Railway launched high speed train services on December 3 last year. The first phase of the Thai-Chinese railway project, running from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima, is currently under construction and is expected to begin operations in 2026.

Meanwhile, a new rail line providing China with access to the Indian Ocean via Myanmar was opened on August 25, 2021 on the Chinese side of the border. Named the China-Myanmar New Passage, it is the first route to link western China with the Indian Ocean via Chengdu-Lincang-Yangon.

 
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