Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiswami on Monday discussed with Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan boosting cooperation in rail communication between their two countries.
The two discussed the current and future projects taken up by the Bangladesh government under Indian finance. The Indian HC proposed to launch a fourth interstate rail service at the meeting at the railway minister’s office.
The Indian envoy said that at present, three trains named Maitree, Bandhan and Mitali Express are running between the two countries. Due to demands from the passengers, another train can be added to the fleet.
The Railways Minister’s recent India tour also came up during the discussion. Sujan said that during his tour, he had visited a factory where modern railway coaches were being built.
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Sujan expressed his eagerness to buy high-quality tourist coaches from India for the Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar route. He also expressed his interest to buy railway engines and luggage vans under the Indian line of credit (LoC).
During the discussion, Sujan stressed the need for strengthening Bangladesh’s connectivity with Nepal and Bhutan. With this in mind, the minister put emphasis on strengthening the Chilahati-Haldibari rail route.
A new rail line is being built between Panchagarh and Banglabandha. The Indian government is yet to fix the place where the rail line will end.
The minister urged the Indian envoy to ramp up the process of selecting the site.
Sujan and Doraiswami also discussed various projects undertaken by the Bangladesh government under Indian LoC, including Bogura-Sirajganj rail lines, Khulna-Mongla rail lines, and the third and fourth rail lines from Dhaka to Tongi.
Railways Ministry Secretary Md Humayun Kabir and Bangladesh Railway Director General (DG) Dhirendra Nath Majumder were present at the meeting.
