Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

How long does it take to get from Dhaka to Chittagong by train? Around six hours, one would say. You could add an extra couple of hours, if a delay arises.

What if it could take a little over an hour?

Surprised? Well, that's what is likely to happen as the country is set to step into the bullet train era.

The journey from the capital to the commercial capital will be slashed to only 73 minutes once the high-speed trains begin passenger services. An uninterrupted journey between Dhaka and Chattogram will take only 55 minutes.

It will, however, set commuters back a pretty penny -- around Tk 2,000, more than three times higher than the fare of an AC seat on existing Bangladeshi inter-city trains.

The trains, which will run at a top speed of 300km/hr, can carry approximately 50,000 passengers each way daily.

The feasibility study of the first high-speed train, commissioned by Bangladesh Railway, has already been completed. The route has also been selected and work for the detailed design of the “passenger dedicated” railway project, involving around Tk 97,000 crore, is underway.

However, it is still not decided what will be the source of the fund.

The new high-speed railway route will be around 90km shorter than the existing route.

However, two prominent transport experts termed the project “highly ambitious” and questioned the capacity of Bangladesh Railway to operate the high-speed train, when it has not yet introduced