NEW DELHI: The railway passenger service between India and Bangladesh, which was stopped in March 2020 due to Covid-19, will be resumed soon, Bangladesh’s Railways Ministry said.
The decision to resume the rail service was taken following a meeting between Vikram Kumar Doraiswami, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh with Bangladesh Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Inter-country Maitree Express runs between Dhaka and Kolkata and Bandhan Express operates on the Khulna-Kolkata route. Both the passenger train services were suspended on March 15, 2020, due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In March last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina launched Mitali Express which plies between the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka and New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal.
The train services between the two neighbouring countries will be resumed after the resumption of tourist visa services, Bangladesh Railways Ministry said.
During the meeting on Wednesday, High Commissioner Doraiswami and Minister Sujan also discussed projects being undertaken under Indian grants and loans. The two sides expressed their dissatisfaction over the progress of the Akhaura-Agartala connectivity project, which is being constructed under India’s financial assistance, the ministry said.
The railways minister also appealed to the Indian envoy to donate unused rail engines to Bangladesh.
In 2020, India donated 10 diesel locomotives to Bangladesh