Railway’s western zone to lease out add’l trains to boost revenue

Bangladesh Railway's western zone has initiated a plan to lease 11 additional mail and local trains to private operators over facing persistent revenue shortfalls, widespread ticketless travel, manpower shortages and mounting losses on mail and local train services. 

A proposal regarding this has already been submitted to Railway Headquarters for approval.

However, while railway officials expect the move to strengthen revenue collection and improve operational efficiency, observers warn that privatisation could eventually result in higher fares for passengers.

Western zone General Manager Farid Ahmed said the proposal is currently awaiting approval. Once cleared, the railway will complete the necessary procedures before handing over the train operations to private operators.

According to railway officials, mail and local trains have been operating with heavy losses for years, prompting the authorities to explore alternative management models to reduce financial pressure and improve operational efficiency.

Currently, Bangladesh Railway's western zone operates 62 intercity, 55 mail and commuter, and 12 local trains. Of these, 24 mail, commuter, and local trains have already been leased to private operators, generating approximately Tk13.3 million in monthly revenue.

Encouraged by this experience, the railway now plans to expand the leasing programme by including 11 more trains.

However, officials acknowledge that the railway's financial problems extend far beyond the operation of loss-making services. While only 10 to 12 intercity trains consistently generate profits, most mail and local trains continue to incur losses because of low fares, high operating costs, and widespread fare evasion.

One of the most pressing challenges is ticketless travel. Railway officials say many passengers on local routes travel without purchasing tickets, while others allegedly pay railway staff directly instead of buying tickets through official counters. Such practices deprive the government of substantial revenue each year.

Ansar Ali, additional chief commercial manager of the western zone, said the railway lacks sufficient manpower to conduct effective ticket inspections on all trains. As a result, revenue leakage remains a persistent problem that is difficult to control.

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Revenue figures further illustrate the scale of the challenge. In the 2023–24 fiscal year, the western zone earned Tk649 crore against a revenue target of Tk1,077 crore. In 2024–25, revenue fell to Tk621 crore, well below the target of Tk1,160 crore. During the first ten months of the 2025–26 fiscal year, the railway collected Tk566 crore, compared with a target of Tk825 crore.

Railway officials believe that recruiting additional staff, strengthening monitoring mechanisms, and maintaining separate profit-and-loss accounts for individual train services could improve financial performance.

However, given current resource constraints, they view the leasing model as the most practical short-term solution for increasing revenue and reducing operational losses.

Transport analysts, however, argue that leasing trains alone is unlikely to resolve the railway's long-standing financial difficulties. They stress that sustainable improvement will require structural reforms, including stricter enforcement against ticketless travel, expanded digital ticketing, stronger accountability, and greater operational efficiency.

They also caution that unless fare levels and service quality are effectively regulated, increased private-sector involvement could place an additional financial burden on ordinary passengers while doing little to address the underlying causes of the railway's revenue crisis.