Garjan (JDipterocarpus spp.), by virtue
of its availability and strength properties,
happens to be the principal species for
railway sleepers in Bangladesh. This
species is used also for construction and
many other purposes. The wide and
extensive use of this species has created
scarcity and its present supply position is
not adequate to meet the requirement of
sleepers. As a result, sleepers are being
imported from foreign countries to overcome
the supply shortage. It is, therefore,
necessary that other suitable indigenous
species be used as railway sleepers.
Although there are more than 500
hardwood species in the forests of
Bangladesh only a few of them are available
in quantities commensurate with the
requirements of the timber industries. In order
to find out a group of alternative timber
species for sleepers a joint study was undertakenby
Forest Research Institute, Bangladesh
Railway and Forest utilization Division