Dhaka
Dhaka and Delhi have decided to establish a direct rail link between Akhaura of Bangladesh with Agartala of the Indian state of Tripura by the end of the year.
Officials yesterday said that a 10km railway track will be constructed by the end of 2011 directly to facilitate transit for India.
Communications ministry officials said that India has linked Agartala with its railway network in the northeast region. With the establishment of the new link, Tripura and part of northeast India will be connected to the Chittagong port of Bangladesh through railway.
The officials said the new rail link, to be constructed with Indian funds, will open opportunities for both the countries in trade, tourism and communications.
India will be able to transport goods through the tracks by using the seaport, while Bangladesh will gain financial benefit by charging them for using the railway and port facilities.
Delhi has been pressing for the rail link as it will also reduce distance between Agartala and Kolkata by nearly three times. The distance between Agartala and Kolkata via Guwahati is around 1,200 km.
However, the rail link is mainly aimed at freight services.
There is also a road link between Akhaura of Brahmanbaria in Bangladesh and Agartala of Tripura. The Dhaka-Agartala bus service, introduced in 2003, operates through the route irregularly hardly bringing any benefit out of it.
The two countries have already finalised alignment of the rail tracks and are now determining construction cost as well as the modus operandi of the train service.
“Both India and Bangladesh are moving fast to establish the train connectivity,” director general of railway Towhidul Anwar Chowdhury said.
He said Bangladesh has already endorsed the alignment that connects Gangasagar, a small train station in Akhaura, and Agartala for the new route. A joint team selected the route in October last year.
“Both the countries will determine the cost and modus operandi of construction of the tracks after the central government endorses the route,” said Md Iftekharul Islam, additional secretary of the communications ministry.