Communication Minister Nazmul Huda yesterday said the government is planning to introduce the high-speed electronic train service on the Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Sylhet routes.

He said after launching highway on Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Sylhet routes, Railway passengers have reduced, for which the government has taken the initiative to introduce the highspeed trainsin the country.

Huda said this while he was inaugurating the 11 more Meter Gauge Diesel Electric Main Line Locomotives at a programme organised by BR at Kamalapur Railway Station in the city.

He said the government is also improving the railway tracks and signaling systems to mordernise the BR.

"The addition of the new locomotives with the assistance of Korea would significantly enrich the railway," Housing and Public Works Minister MirzaAbbas said.

Communication Secretray Md Shafiqul Islam, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Seong-Ung Park and BR Director General AFM Mustafizur Rahman were present.

At present Bangladesh Railway has a fleet of 78 Broad Gauge and 197 Meter Gauge out of 275 locomotives. Addition of 11 Meter Gauge locomotives has raised BR's locomotives fleet strength to 286 of which 208 are Meter Gauge.

These new locomotives worth about Tk 214 crore were procured from

the Republic of Korea.

The BR signed a contract agreement with M/S. Samsung Corporation of Korea on September 24 in 2003 for procurement of theses new locomotives, manufactured by M/S. ROTEM Company Limited of Korea.