The Mitali Express, which operates between New Jalpaiguri (NJP) in northern West Bengal and Dhaka in Bangladesh, along with its return trains, has been suspended for three days in light of Eid celebrations. The decision to cancel this bi-weekly train service was made jointly by Indian Railways and Bangladesh Railway, as stated in a release issued by the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR)
According to a release issued by the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR), the Indian Railways in consultation with the Bangladesh Railway decided to cancel the bi-weekly train service. The Mitali Express will not operate from NJP station on June 12, 16, and 19, and from Dhaka on June 13, 17, and 20. Normal services of the Mitali Express will resume after the Eid festival in Bangladesh. The service was also suspended during last year’s Eid festival.
India-Bangladesh connectivity
Inaugurated in 2022, the train service aims to strengthen people-to-people connectivity between India and Bangladesh. The Mitali Express is one of three trains that run between the two countries, alongside the Kolkata-Dhaka-Kolkata Maitree Express and the Kolkata-Khulna-Kolkata Bandhan Express.
Demand accommodation
To accommodate passenger demand, NFR has decided to continue the services of two special trains: Mysuru-Muzaffarpur-Mysuru and Rani Kamlapati-Agartala-Rani Kamlapati. The Mysuru–Muzaffarpur special train will run from June 17 to 24 every Monday, and from June 20 to 27 every Thursday on the return journey. The Rani Kamlapati-Agartala Weekly Express will run from June 27 to December 26 every Thursday, and from June 30 to December 29 every Sunday on the return journey. According to the release, this extension of services will benefit waitlisted passengers.