Seven years, no train: Sirajganj-Bogura rail link still just on paper

What was meant to be a transformative rail corridor linking North Bengal to Dhaka in just five hours, slashing 130 km off the journey and saving four hours, has instead become a seven-year saga of bureaucratic delays, financing failures, and missed opportunities. Approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on October 30, 2018, the Sirajganj-Bogura Railway Project, envisioned as a game-changer for regional connectivity and economic integration, has seen less than 1% financial progress to date. Originally slated for completion in four years under a $379 million Indian Line of Credit (LoC), the project was plagued by cost overruns (ballooning to $679 million), repeated deadline extensions, and finally, complete cancellation of Indian funding. Now, the interim...