Locomotives of Bangladesh explained

In the rail transport system of Bangladesh, diesel locomotives are used by Bangladesh Railway (BR). Among diesel locos, there are diesel-electric and diesel-hydraulic locos. Besides diesel locos, steam locos were used in the past, but now they are no longer used. By gauge, there are narrow-gauge (762 mm), meter-gauge (1,000 mm) and broad-gauge (1,676 mm) locos in Bangladesh. Among them, as no narrow-gauge railroads are active, so the narrow-gauge locos are not used anymore.

In 2013, the government allocated to import 20 units of diesel-electric multiple unit (DEMU) trains from China's CRRC Tangshan, intending to enhance short-distance train travel. However, these controversial trains quickly became inoperative due to inadequate maintenance stemming from insufficient facilities and expertise. While BR managed to repair one using local technologies, all 20 imported sets of DEMU trains have since been abandoned in various workshops due to waning interest among railway officials.^[1] ^[2]

As of 2020, total 476 meter-gauge and broad-gauge diesel locos (including the old 11 class 3000 locos) have been imported in Bangladesh. Most of them are diesel-electric, but 80 locos are diesel-hydraulic. Among the 476 locos, 349 are meter-gauge and 127 are broad-gauge.^[3] All diesel-hydraulic locos were produced by Ganz-MÁVAG of Hungary. Various companies produced the diesel-electric locos, notable among them are Progress Rail, Hyundai Rotem, DLW, GMD, ALCO and MLW.^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7]

Diesel locomotives

Meter-gauge diesel locomotives

Classseries	Classname	Builder	Model	Nos.	Number	Firstintroduced	Power(hp)	Speed(km/h)	Base
2000	MEG-11	GMD	B12	40	2000–2039	1953	1125	100	CGPY
2100	GEU-14	GE	UM13C	10	2101–2110	1964	1,370	103	?
2200	MEG-9	GMD	GL8	41	2201–2241	1961	875	124	CGPY Kamalapur Pahartali Parbatipur
2300	MEM-14	MLW	DL535A/RSD-30	24	2301–2324	1969	1400	96	Kamalapur Parbatipur
2400	MEM-14	MLW	DL535A/RSD-30	12	2401–2412	1978	1400	96	Kamalapur Parbatipur
2500	MEH-14	Hitachi	HFA13A	18	2501–2518	1982	1400	96	Kamalapur
2600	MEG-15	GMD	GT18LA-2	16	2601–2616	1988	1500	107	Pahartali
2700	MEL-15	Henschel Adtranz	JT18U6	21	2701–2721	1994	1500	107	Pahartali
2800	MED-14	BLW	DL535A/ RSD-30 (YDM 4BR)	10	2801–2810	1996	1400	96	?
2900	MEI-15	Hyundai Hyundai Rotem	GT18LA-2	39	2901–2939	1999	1500	107	Kamalapur Pahartali Parbatipur
3000
3000	MEI-20	Hyundai Rotem	GT38ACL	30	3001–3030	2020	2200	140	Kamalapur Pahartali
3100	MEE-5	English Electric	EEU-6	26	3101–3126	1973	550	56	Pahartali
3200	MHZ-5	Ganz -MÁVAG	DHM 10	22	3201–3222	1980	590	60	Dewanganj
3300	MHZ-8	Ganz-MÁVAG	DHM 12	38	3301–3338	1983	800	72	Bonarpara

Broad-gauge diesel locomotives

Classseries	Classname	Builder	Model	Nos.	Numbering	Firstintroduced	Power(hp)	Speed(km/h)	Base
6000	BEA-20	Alco	DL543/RSD-34	18	6000–6017	1965	2000	106	Ishwardi
6100	BEM-20	MLW	DL543/RSD-34	16	6101–6116	1969	2000	106	Ishwardi
6200	BEH-24	Hitachi	HFA26A	12	6201–6212	1980	2450	?	Ishwardi
6300	BEB-22	Bombardier	MX 624	12	6301–6312	1980	2200	105	Ishwardi
6400	BED-26	BLW	DL560C (WDM 2B)	10	6401–6410	2001	2600	120	Ishwardi
6400	BED-26	BLW	DL560C (WDM 2CA)	3	6411–6413	2004	2600	120	Ishwardi
6500	BED-30	BLW	DL560C (WDM 3A)	26	6501–6526	2012	3100	120	Ishwardi
6500	BED-33	BLW	DL560C (WDM 3D)	30	6527–6556	2020	3300	160	Ishwardi
6600	BEP-32	Progress Rail	GT42AC	40	6601–6640	2021	3250	140	Ishwardi
7000	BHZ-5	Ganz-MÁVAG	DHM 9	20	7001–7020	1980	500	60

List of preserved Diesel locomotives

Class	Loco no.	Location	Builder	Build no.	Transmission	Engine type
MEG-11	2000	Diesel Workshop, Pahartali, Chittagong	General Motors Diesel	A443	Diesel-electric	Two-stroke
MHZ-8	3309	Central Locomotive Workshop, Parbatipur, Dinajpur	Ganz Mavag, Budapest, Hungary		Diesel-hydraulic
MHZ-8	3332	Saidpur Works, Nilphamari	Ganz Mavag, Budapest, Hungary		Diesel-hydraulic

Steam locomotives

A small number of steam locomotives are preserved in Bangladesh.^[8]

Location	Class	Builder	Wheel arrangement	Gauge
Dhaka Railway HQ	YD 718	Nippon	2-8-2	Metre gauge
Saidpur Works	CS 15	W. G. Bagnall, England	2-4-0T
Saidpur Works	SGC-2 240	Vulcan Foundry, England	0-6-0
Paksay Railway HQ	CB 8	Vulcan Foundry, England	2-4-0T
Pahartoli Works	CB 7	Vulcan Foundry, England	2-4-0T
Rajshahi Railway HQ	HPS 30	Vulcan Foundry, England	4-6-0
National Scout Training Center, Mouchak, Gazipur	RC 233

The gauge locomotives are from the Rupsa-Bagerhat railway which was the only gauge line in East Pakistan when colonial India was partitioned in 1947. It was re-gauged to gauge in 1970.

Notes and References

Web site: Hossain . Anowar . 2023-05-15 . No DEMU train operative, no one takes the blame . 2024-03-16 . Prothom Alo English . en.
Web site: Nov 26, 2023 . Railway plan to repair controversial DEMU trains shelved . 2024-03-16 . The Financial Express . en.
Web site: bn:মেয়াদোত্তীর্ণ ইঞ্জিনে চলছে ট্রেন বাংলাদেশ প্রতিদিন. https://www.bd-pratidin.com/first-page/2019/11/25/477720. 2020-04-20. Bangladesh Pratidin. bn.
Web site: ANALYSIS OF PROBLEMS. 2020-11-27. Bangladesh Railway.
Web site: 28 August 2012. DLW bags order for 16 locomotives from Bangladesh Railways. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170828062624/https://www.globalrailnews.com/2012/08/28/dlw-bags-order-for-16-locomotives-from-bangladesh-railways/. 28 August 2017. 28 August 2017. Global Rail News.
Web site: 2019-01-15. Bangladesh Railway orders Progress Rail locomotives. 2020-08-31. International Railway Journal. en.
Web site: 2019-02-07. Bangladesh taps Progress Rail for GT Series power. 2020-04-20. Railway Age. en-US.
Web site: Preserved Steam Locomotives in Bangladesh . Internationalsteam.co.uk . 2017-08-28.