Agartala-Kolkata Travel Time to be Reduced! New Indian Railways Link via Bangladesh will Connect Two Cities in 10 Hours
The present line will go to Akhaura which is linked to Dhaka Chittagong rail route. As per details by officials, the line will be operational by 2020.
New Delhi, May 13: In a bid to provide passengers with a hassle-free travel experience, a new Indian Railways link via Bangladesh is set to reduce travel time between Agartala in Tripura and Kolkata in West Bengal. The travel time between the two cities will now be reduced to around 10 hours from current 31 hours as it will travel 550 km instead of 1600. The present line will go to Akhaura which is linked to Dhaka Chittagong rail route. As per details by officials, the line will be operational by 2020.
At present, India and Bangladesh have four operational rail links between West Bengal and Western Bangladesh – Petrapole-Benapole, Gede-Darshana, Radhikapur-Biral and Singhabad-Rohanpur. Radhikapur-Biral and Singhabad-Rohanpur are also notified for use of Nepalese transit traffic. It must be noted that the new 12.3 km Akhaura rail line will reduce journey time between Agartala and Kolkata by 21 hours, by cutting through Bangladesh's capital Dhaka instead of Guwahati.
Chief engineer of the Rs 570 crore project M S Chauhan said, “Kolkata is a major destination for people in this area, but as of now there was no direct connectivity to the city. The line will help not only people from Agartala but also those from Mizoram which is 150 km away”. The official further informed that the line will be operational by 2020.
The trains on the line will undergo security check once at Nishchintpur on the Indian side and Gangasagar on the Bangladesh side. This line will be instrumental in freight movement as well as goods from the northeastern state can now reach Kolkata in one third the time. Similarly, goods from Chittagong port will reach Agartala quicker. The number of Bangladeshi travellers to India increased from 7.5 lakh in 2015 to 9.33 lakh in 2016. In the first six months of 2017, seven lakh Bangladeshis visited India.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 14, 2018 12:05 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).