Manpower shortage : Railway crippled, passengers' services disrupted
M.R Amin, Chattogram
Bangladesh Railway, one of the country’s most important public transportation systems, is currently grappling with a severe workforce shortage.
The prolonged vacancy of numerous key positions has created significant challenges in railway operations, maintenance, and service delivery.
Acknowledging the staffing crisis, Secretary of the Ministry of Railways Md. Fahimul Islam said, “We are aware of the issue. We are moving forward gradually to address it through phased implementation.”
According to relevant sources, a large number of positions across various railway departments have remained vacant for years. As a result, existing employees are being forced to shoulder additional responsibilities, increasing their workload and affecting the quality of services. In many cases, officers and staff are required to work beyond their designated hours, raising concerns about safety and operational risks.
The workforce shortage has also made train operations and schedule maintenance increasingly challenging. Passenger services are being disrupted due to the lack of necessary personnel. Regular maintenance of railway tracks, bridges, and other infrastructure is likewise being hampered.
Although railway services have expanded in recent years, manpower has not increased proportionately. Consequently, the staffing shortage has emerged as a major obstacle to achieving the goal of building a modern, safe, and efficient railway system.
Stakeholders emphasize the urgent need to fill vacant positions, develop skilled human resources, strengthen training programs, and implement effective workforce management strategies. They believe that ensuring adequate staffing would significantly improve the quality of Bangladesh Railway’s services and provide passengers with safer and more comfortable travel experiences.
Sources indicate that under Bangladesh Railway’s approved workforce structure, there should be 47,637 employees, but only about 24,000 are currently employed. In other words, nearly 50 percent of positions remain vacant. This gap has emerged due to years of stalled recruitment processes, placing the railway system under considerable strain.
One of the most critical areas affected is the locomotive (engine) maintenance section, where approximately 75 percent of positions are vacant, leaving only 25 percent filled. Similar shortages exist across many railway departments. One of the key reasons is the ongoing process of revising recruitment regulations. In addition, educational requirements for lower-level positions have attracted highly educated candidates, while individuals with practical skills often fail to qualify through written examinations. Those who are selected frequently choose not to join or leave shortly afterward for better opportunities elsewhere, further worsening staffing shortages in critical departments.
According to insider sources, recruitment for fourth-class positions such as khalasi (helpers), waymen, and porters previously required only an eighth-grade education, with no written examination. Candidates were assessed through interviews focusing on their physical ability to perform labor-intensive work. However, applicants for these positions are now required to have passed the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination and sit for written tests.
As a result, highly educated candidates are applying for these jobs, while less educated but more practically skilled applicants often fail to compete successfully in the examinations.
Although educated candidates secure these positions, many are reluctant to join or eventually leave after obtaining better employment opportunities. Consequently, vacancies remain unfilled, and reports suggest that many khalasis have resigned from various railway departments.
A similar situation exists in technical and operational positions. For example, candidates for the post of Assistant Station Master (ASM) must hold a bachelor’s degree, while Assistant Loco Masters (ALM) are required to have completed higher secondary education in the science stream. Given Bangladesh’s large pool of unemployed graduates, highly educated candidates often secure these positions but later decline to join or leave after finding more attractive jobs.
In 2022, Bangladesh Railway issued final appointment letters to 587 Assistant Station Masters, but only 352 joined, while 225 declined the positions. Of those who joined, another 162 later resigned. Similarly, in 2025, 45 out of 353 Assistant Loco Masters left their jobs after joining. Although the vacancies were subsequently filled through three rounds of recruitment from waiting lists, similar incidents continue across various departments.
Officials say that these repeated departures result in substantial losses of time and public funds spent on recruitment and training. Concerns have also been raised about possible irregularities in the use of waiting lists, with sources claiming that no formal waiting lists were properly preserved.
Experts note that large numbers of railway personnel in technical, operational, and administrative positions are retiring, while replacements are not being recruited on time. As a result, vacancies created by retirements remain unfilled. In many cases, a single officer or employee is required to perform the duties of multiple positions.
They warn that unless recruitment-rule complications are resolved quickly, vacant positions are filled on an emergency basis, plans are developed to replace retiring experienced personnel, and effective employee-retention strategies are adopted, Bangladesh Railway’s workforce crisis could become even more severe in the future.
Speaking on the issue, M.R. Monju, Central General Secretary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Railway Workers’ Party and a senior loco master, said that significant time and resources are invested in recruiting, training, and developing railway employees.
When workers leave shortly after joining, the organization fails to receive the expected return on that investment, resulting in financial losses.
He further argued that the flawed recruitment rules and procedures introduced in 2020 under the previous government led to the appointment of overqualified candidates to many third- and fourth-class positions through the Public Service Commission (PSC). As a result, a significant number of recruits either leave during training or shortly after completing it, causing a waste of skills, public funds, and human resources while perpetuating workforce shortages.
When contacted again, Railway Secretary Md. Fahimul Islam reiterated that Bangladesh Railway is facing a manpower shortage and that the government is fully aware of the situation.
“There is a clear policy decision by the government regarding recruitment in Bangladesh Railway, and we are moving forward with its implementation in phases. Necessary amendments to relevant rules and regulations will also be considered to make workforce management more effective and responsive, and discussions will be held with the concerned stakeholders,” he said.
