ASIA: Revenue services have started operating on the short cross-border rail link between Agartala in India and Akhaura in Bangladesh, following a virtual inauguration by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina in November.
Built at an estimated cost of Rs11bn, the 15 km link has 5·5km in the Indian state of Tripura and 9·5 km in eastern Bangladesh; it also includes a 3·1 km viaduct. The cross-border link is expected to enhance tourism, trade and cultural ties between the two nations, providing provide direct access between India’s landlocked northeastern states and the port of Chittagong.
In the longer term, India is hoping to launch through trains from Kolkata to the states of Tripura, Mizoram and southern Assam via Bangladesh, as a shorter option than the current route via Guwahati and the so-called ‘chicken’s neck’ corridor at Siliguri. This would reduce the distance between the Tripura state capital Agartala and Kolkata from 1 650 km to around 350 km.
According to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Agartala – Akhaura link was deemed a project of national importance, and as such the work was funded by the Ministry of Development for the North Eastern Region. Originally conceived by the two governments in 2010, the line was initially expected to open in 2018, but the deadline was then put back to 2020.
Work is also underway to revitalise the 30 km cross-border line between Feni in Bangladesh and Belonia in India, which is already connected with Agartala by rail. According to an intergovernmental agreement, India will cover the cost of renovating this route, which was originally established by the then Assam Bengal Railway Co in 1929 but closed after 1947.
Bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh increased significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic, with much of the traffic moving switching from road to rail. During Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India in September 2022, the two countries signed memoranda of understanding for collaboration in IT systems including IR’s Freight Operations Information System, and for the training of Bangladesh Railway personnel in India.
India is also financing two further railway projects in Bangladesh: construction of a 126 km broad gauge line between Khulna and Darsana at a cost of US$312m, and the conversion of the metre gauge Parbatipur – Kaunia line to dual-gauge for around US$120m.
