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.
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. 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.
Diesel locomotives Meter-gauge diesel locomotives Class series Class name Builder Model Nos. Number First introduced Power (hp) Speed (km/h) BaseImage2000MEG-11GMDB12402000–203919531125100CGPY2100GEU-14GEUM13C102101–211019641,370103?2200MEG-9GMDGL8412201–22411961875124CGPYKamalapurPahartaliParbatipur2300MEM-14MLWDL535A/RSD-30242301–23241969140096KamalapurParbatipur2400122401–24121978 2500MEH-14HitachiHFA13A182501–2518 1982140096Kamalapur2600MEG-15GMDGT18LA-2162601–261619881500107Pahartali2700MEL-15HenschelAdtranzJT18U6212701–272119941500107Pahartali2800MED-14BLWDL535A/RSD-30(YDM 4BR)102801–28101996140096?2900MEI-15HyundaiHyundai RotemGT18LA-2392901–293919991500107KamalapurPahartaliParbatipur3000MEI-20Hyundai RotemGT38ACL303001–303020202200140KamalapurPahartali3100MEE-5English ElectricEEU-6263101–3126197355056Pahartali3200MHZ-5Ganz-MÁVAGDHM 10223201–3222198059060Dewanganj 3300MHZ-8Ganz-MÁVAGDHM 12383301–3338198380072Bonarpara
Meter-gauge diesel multiple units Class series Class name Builder Model Nos. Number First introduced Power (hp) Speed (km/h) BaseImageCRRC TangshanDMU20201267 80
Broad-gauge diesel locomotives Class series Class name Builder Model Nos. Numbering First introduced Power (hp) Speed (km/h) BaseImage6000BEA-20AlcoDL543/RSD-34186000–601719652000106Ishwardi6100BEM-20MLWDL543/RSD-34166101–611619692000106Ishwardi 6200BEH-24HitachiHFA26A126201–621219802450?Ishwardi6300BEB-22BombardierMX 624126301–631219802200105Ishwardi6400BED-26BLWDL560C(WDM 2B)106401–641020012600120Ishwardi BLWDL560C(WDM 2CA)36411–641320042600120Ishwardi6500BED-30BLWDL560C(WDM 3A)266501–652620123100120IshwardiBED-33BLWDL560C (WDM 3D)306527–655620203300160Ishwardi6600BEP-32Progress RailGT42AC-IAC406601–664020213250140Ishwardi 7000BHZ-5Ganz-MÁVAGDHM 9207001–7020198050060
List of preserved Diesel locomotives Class Loco no. Location Builder Build no. Transmission Engine type Gauge MEG-11 2000 Diesel Workshop, Pahartali, Chittagong General Motors Diesel A443 Diesel-electric Two-strokeMetre gauge MHZ-8 3309 Central Locomotive Workshop, Parbatipur, Dinajpur Ganz Mavag, Budapest, Hungary Diesel-hydraulicMetre gauge MHZ-8 3332 Saidpur Works, Nilphamari Ganz Mavag, Budapest, Hungary Diesel-hydraulicMetre gauge
Steam locomotives
A small number of steam locomotives are preserved in Bangladesh.
LocationClass Builder Wheelarrangement GaugeImage Dhaka Railway HQYD 718 Nippon Sharyo, Japan 2-8-2 Metre gauge Saidpur WorksCS 15 W. G. Bagnall, England 2-4-0T Narrow Gauge Saidpur WorksSGC-2 240 Vulcan Foundry, England 0-6-0 Broad Gauge Paksay Railway HQCB 8 Vulcan Foundry, England 2-4-0T Narrow Gauge Pahartoli WorksCB 7 Vulcan Foundry, England 2-4-0T Narrow Gauge Rajshahi Railway HQHPS 30 Vulcan Foundry, England 4-6-0 Broad Gauge National Scout Training Center, Mouchak, Gazipur RC 233 Kawasaki, Japan 4-6-0 Metre gauge
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.
References