Most of 22 relief cranes of Bangladesh Railway (BR) are either outdated or broken, causing difficulties in carrying out salvage operations after train accidents. At least 10 are over 35 years old while three are between 21 and 35 years old, according to BR documents. Three are now broken. Only six are within their economic life, which is 20 years. Of the 22 relief cranes, 15 are meter-gauge and seven broad-gauge, the documents show. Most of the outdated cranes are steam-operated and spare parts for them are not available in the international market, BR officials said. Besides, some of them are not capable of conducting salvage operations as they are too "small" and take more than usual time to complete a rescue operation, causing passengers' sufferings, they said.