Passenger Train Services Between India and Bangladesh to Resume from May 29; Check Details

Passenger train services between India and Bangladesh will resume from May 29, an official order said. The train services between Kolkata and cities in Bangladesh were suspended in March 2020 as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19.

The Railway Board has issued orders to resume Kolkata-Dhaka Maitree Express from Dhaka by Bangladesh Railway rake and Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan Express from Kolkata by Indian Railways rake on May 29, 2022. The services of NJP-Dhaka Mitali Express will be started on June 1 following the scheduled virtual flagging off of Mitali Express by the railway ministers of India and Bangladesh from Rail Bhawan.

The railway minister of Bangladesh is expected to be in India during that time.

Maitree express is the first modern day, fully air conditioned international express train service connecting Dhaka to Kolkata. Previously, train services between the two countries existed before the partition of India by the British and the Maitree Express re-established this connection between Dhaka and Kolkata in 2008 after being closed for 43 years.

In 2017, a second train service, the Bandhan Express, was inaugurated connecting Kolkata with the Bangladeshi city of Khulna, recreating the previous Barisal Express train route.

The Maitree Express runs five days a week. The train travels around 400 kilometres to reach Dhaka from Kolkata. Earlier, there were two stops for immigration checks in Kolkata and Dhaka. One in Gede on the Indian side and the other in Dorshona on the Bangladeshi side.

Since November 2017, immigration and customs have been completed at Dhaka and Kolkata. This has reduced travel time by two and half hours. It takes around 8 hours 50 minutes to cover the entire stretch.

On other side, Bandhan express frequency was increased in pre-covid times. Sources said that now the train will run twice in a week, that is Sunday and Thursday. Railway officials have also said they are planning to start the operations from NJP to Dhaka Mitali express.

(With agencies input)

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