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India and Bangladesh set to reopen rail route after 55 years

India and Bangladesh set to reopen rail route after 55 years

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The rail route between Haldibari in West Bengal in India and Chilahati in neighbouring Bangladesh is all set to reopen after a gap of 55 years on December 17. The Prime ministers of the two countries, Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina, will inaugurate the programme.

The railway line from Haldibari in Cooch Behar to Chilahati in northern Bangladesh has been defunct after rail links between India and then East Pakistan had snapped in 1965.

A goods train will run from Chilahati to Haldibari, which is under the Katihar division of the NRF, to mark the opening of the route, Chanda said.

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The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday informed the authorities of the decision to reopen the rail route, said Katihar Divisional Railway Manager Ravinder Kumar Verma.

The distance between Haldibari railway station till the international border is 4.5 kilometres while that from Chilahati in Bangladesh till the zero point is around 7.5 kilometres, sources in the NFR said.

Both Haldibari and Chilahati stations were on the old broad gauge railway route between Siliguri and Kolkata that went through areas in present-day Bangladesh.

When passenger train service begins on this route, people will be able to travel to Kolkata from Jalpaiguri, which is near Siliguri, in seven hours, five hours less than what it takes now, Verma said after visiting Haldibari station on Wednesday.

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Edited By: Admin
Published On: Dec 11, 2020