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The railway connectivity between Akhaura (Bangladesh) and Agartala (India) will be operational in September, Tripura transport minister Sushanta Chowdhury said on Friday.
Sushanta had recently met and discussed with union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnav in the national capital regarding the development of railway services and infrastructures in the north-eastern state, reports Hindustan Times.
“Union railway minister requested the DoNER (Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region) ministry to allocate additional ₹150 crore to expedite the construction of Agartala-Akhaura railway connectivity. We are hopeful that the work will be completed and launched in September,” Sushanta said, adding that the funds will be allocated at the earliest.
So far, 85 per cent of work on the Indian side while 73 per cent of work on the Bangladesh side have already been completed, he informed.
With the launching of the railway services, the travel time in the Agartala-Kolkata route via Dhaka will be reduced to 10 hours from 31 hours.
The Indo-Bangla railway line will link Bangladesh’s Akhaura through an international immigration station at Nischintapur.
Both countries had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the railway project in 2013. Akhaura was a railway link for Agartala earlier in the British era.
Sushanta also said he proposed to the union railway minister about the upgradation of the Agartala railway station in Badharghat. “He assured to look into the issue. We are preparing the detailed project report (DPR) and we are hopeful to lay foundation stone in next 2-3 months.”
He further added that the air connectivity between Agartala and Chattogram in Bangladesh will commence soon.
The state will spend ₹15 crore every year for the project. Till now, ₹3 crore has already been disbursed.
