India clears new rail line to Bangladesh

Listen to this article

The Indian government has approved a new rail line that will link Bangladesh. The 15 km costing Rs 276 crore line will be connecting North Eastern state, Tripura’s capital Agartala in India with South Eastern city, Akhaurah in Bangaldesh.

The new line will provide direct link to Chittagong port, resource-rich Sylhet and Dhaka.

A Tripura government official while speaking to reporters said, “The Indian Railway Construction Company (IRCON) would lay the new railway tracks on both sides of the border. The Railway Board officials have communicated the Indian government’s approval of the project to the Tripura government recently.”

Out of the 15 km line, only five km comes under Indian territory and the balance 10 km falls under Bangladesh territory. The funding will be done by Indian foreign office on the Bangladesh side and on the Indian side it will be borne by DoNER (Development of North Eastern Region) ministry, a ministry set up to look after North East States development, he added.

The move comes after the Indian prime minster, Dr Manmohan Singh visited Bangladesh recently and discussed trade and people to people contact to enhance ties between two countries.

An official of the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) said, “With the development of the new railway link, India would be connected to the Chittagong international sea port through railway.”

According to an estimate, there were seven to eight old rail links between India’s West Bengal and Assam states and Bangladesh. Currently, only three rail links are operational between India’s West Bengal and Bangladesh.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest Rail News

ORR review leads to 50% reduction in maximum fees for ticket refunds

New rules will mean that from 2 April the maximum fee that train operators and ticket retailers can charge...

More like this...