Bangladesh and India are always having a controversial bilateral relationship between them. But the relationship between two countries becoming more positive and effective now a days. They are committed to have better railway communications.
Bangladesh and India will extend their railway network along the international border to improve connectivity between the two countries.
Communications ministry sources said India is going to extend railway network to two more places along its border with Bangladesh — Sabroom in southern Tripura, 135 km from Agartala, and Akhaura in western Tripura, just 6 km from Agartala railway station.
Bangladesh operates regular train services on its side up to Akhaura and various other places, opposite several sub-divisional towns in the Indian state of Tripura.
Railway officials said a team of officials of Indian Railway Construction Company (IRCON) recently visited Dhaka and held talks with officials at the communications ministry as well as railway officials to finalise alignment of the 13-km Agartala-Akhaura rail track to connect railway networks of the two countries.
Of the proposed rail track, 5.4 km falls in Indian territory and 7.6 km in Bangladesh.
During Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s January 10-13 visit to India, New Delhi agreed to provide grant for construction of Akhaura- Agartala rail line.
India will provide $ 1 billion credit for a range of projects including railway infrastructure, supply of locomotives and passenger coaches, rehabilitation of Saidpur railway workshop and procurement of buses, and for dredging projects.
Bangladesh will procure 10 locomotives for its railway at a cost of $35.5 million. It will also purchase 125 broad gauge passenger coaches for the railway costing $53.6 million. Moreover, Bangladesh will buy 60 tank wagons worth $8.85 million and 50 flat wagons worth $4.55 million for the railway with the Indian credit.
Besides, a railway bridge will be constructed on the Titas river that will cost $120 million.
Officials mentioned that a survey was conducted in 1999 for connecting Agartala-Akhaura railway stations.
Bangladesh and India resumed regular train service in April 2008, after 43 years, through Darshana in Bangladesh and Gede in Nadia district of West Bengal. The service was suspended after the 1965 war between India and Pakistan.
India’s Northeast Frontier Railway additional general manager Vipin Jha recently told the media at Agartala that the ongoing work for railway network up to Sabroom would be completed by March 2014. And the proposed railway station would be just 75 km from Chittagong port in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, officials in Dhaka said India has agreed to give Bangladesh transit to Nepal through RohanpurSingabad broad gauge railway link. Bangladesh wanted to convert Radhikapur-Birol rail line a into broad gauge one and requested for railway transit to Bhutan as well.
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