Bangladesh Railway generated BDT 15.42 billion in revenue during the first nine months of the current fiscal year from passenger and freight services and other sources. Over the same period, the organisation spent BDT 28.70 billion. That expenditure covered train operations, rolling-stock repair and maintenance, staff salaries and allowances, and other costs. The resulting shortfall stood at BDT 13.28 billion. For every taka it earned, the railway spent 1.86.
Railways ministry data show the government set a revenue target of BDT 31.73 billion for the 2025–26 fiscal year. Actual collections lag far behind that figure. Officials say the railway is on course for another heavy loss, extending an unbroken losing streak.
Alongside the persistent losses, the railway faces mounting complaints over passenger service quality. The problems span management and technical failures, including unclean trains and stations, erratic schedules, ticket touting, failure to control unticketed passengers, overpriced food, mid-journey decoupling of engines and coaches, engine breakdowns and frequent derailments.
Transport experts note the chronic nature of the losses. The massive infrastructure spending under the previous Awami League government failed to reverse the trend, they say, because it was not executed properly. The organisation consequently remains trapped in a cycle of deficit.
The investment programme pursued under the previous government was flawed, according to Dr Hadiuzzaman, a transport specialist and a civil engineering professor at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). “The revenue and expenditure figures make one thing clear: the investments of the past have yielded very little,” he told Bonik Barta. “New railway lines and stations have been built. These are incurring operating costs, but not enough trains are running on them. Where passenger transport generates the bulk of the railway’s revenue, it will never rise unless the number of trains increases. After an investment of BDT 400 to 500 billion, the railway still faces acute shortages of engines and coaches. That crisis alone exposes the flaws in the entire investment process and approach.”
Hadiuzzaman said a long-term plan is essential for the railway’s revival. “Passenger services alone won’t be enough to lift income,” he argued, “the organisation must build its freight capacity to hit revenue targets.”
He also pointed to the railway’s vast landholdings across the country, a large portion of which sits under encroachment. “If these lands are recovered and commercial operations are run on the basis of sound planning and management, they could play a central role in boosting the railway’s revenue,” he said.
Bangladesh Railway Director General Afzal Hossain acknowledged that the organisation spent BDT 1.86 for every taka earned in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, but insisted the ratio had improved markedly compared with the past. “We operated a number of special trains on various occasions over the last year,” he told Bonik Barta. “We attached extra coaches during Eid and other festivals. On high-demand services like the Parabat and Kalshi Express on the Dhaka–Sylhet route, we’ve increased carrying capacity.” Beyond that, he said imposing pontage charges on several bridges in the eastern zone had significantly boosted revenue there.
During the July–March period of FY 2025–26, the eastern zone performed well while the western zone fell behind. The eastern zone took in BDT 7.58 billion; the western zone generated BDT 4.32 billion.
The Railway DG attributed the western zone’s decline to the suspension of passenger and freight train services between India and Bangladesh. “The western zone’s revenue has dropped mainly in the freight segment,” he said. “Business ties between Bangladesh and India have been strained for a year and a half. Where 70 to 90 trains used to arrive from India each month, the figure has now fallen to 25 to 30. The sharp fall in freight train movements has hit the western zone’s revenue hard.”