Rail freight on the Chattogram–Dhaka route disrupted due to locomotive shortage

Container movement between Chattogram Port and the Kamalapur Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Dhaka has faced serious disruption in recent months, largely due to a severe shortage of locomotives at Bangladesh Railway, creating growing challenges for businesses. Port officials said the issue has lingered for almost a year but began intensifying in October and reached a critical stage in December.

Figures from the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) and Bangladesh Railway show that from January to September the railways operated an average of over 112 container trains per month on the route, with services peaking at about 140 trains in March and April. The situation deteriorated sharply thereafter, with only 84 trains running in October, 95 in November and just 74 in December.

In December, only 37 container trains operated from the Chittagong Goods Port Yard (CGPY) to Dhaka ICD, with the same number running in the opposite direction. CPA Director (Operations) Md Omar Faruk said the port needs at least four pairs of container trains daily to move around 200 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of import containers and maintain smooth clearance of ICD-bound cargo. Based on this requirement, more than 200 trains per month are needed for normal operations.

Officials at Kamalapur ICD said there were nine days in December when no container trains operated at all because locomotives were unavailable. During the month, only one pair of trains ran on nine days, two pairs on 11 days and three pairs on just two days.

The disruption has led to a severe backlog at Chattogram port’s ICD-designated yard for Dhaka-bound import containers. While the yard has a capacity of 887 TEUs, container stock had surged to 1,658 TEUs as of yesterday—almost double its capacity.

This congestion has strained port operations and alarmed importers. A CPA official said ICD-bound containers are now being stored in areas meant for export containers arriving from Dhaka ICD, as well as in distant yards.

Retrieving and sorting containers from these far-off locations takes longer during train loading and significantly increases operational costs, the official added. Business operators say they are suffering most from the situation.

Khairul Alam Suzan, former vice-president of the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association (BAFFA), said ICD-bound containers unloaded from vessels four weeks ago were still waiting to be transported by rail due to the backlog. Md Faruk Alam, general secretary of the Dhaka Customs Clearing and Forwarding Agents Association, said around 1,300 TEUs of ICD-bound import containers have been stuck at the port for nearly a month.

As a result, importers are incurring heavy demurrage charges for containers overstaying in port yards, he said.

Md Sabuktageen, general manager (Eastern Region) of Bangladesh Railway, said freight train services have returned to full operation since last week, with three to four pairs of container trains running daily in recent days. He explained that locomotives had been diverted in December to operate additional passenger trains amid heavy travel demand, limiting availability for freight services.

If the current pace continues, the backlog is expected to be cleared within 10 days, he added. The railway’s Eastern Zone has 131 locomotives, though more than 20 are currently under repair, according to the official.