India-Bhutan rail link project: Soon, travelling between Indian and Bhutan will be possible on trains! A survey has been commissioned by the Railway Board to establish the Mujnai-Nyoenpaling line in a bid to provide a cross-border rail link between the neighbouring nations, India and Bhutan. According to a PTI report, recently Railway Minister Piyush Goyal was in Bhutan, heading a business delegation in connection with the Bhutan-India Start-up Summit 2020. A team from Indian Railways will visit Bhutan to hold discussions with the State Mining Corporation of the neighbouring country on finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for export of railway ballast from Bhutan to India.
According to the report, both sides also discussed designation as well as notification of new transit customs railway stations at Pandu, Jogighopa and Agartala. Also, an agreement was discussed on making the land customs station at Nagarkatta as a permanent customs station.
Apart from India-Bhutan, the north-east part of India will be connected to Bangladesh by a new Indian Railways line by next year. Recently, Union Minister Jitendra Singh announced that the railway line, connecting north-east India to Bangladesh, will be ready by the end of 2021. According to him, once the construction of the rail line, between Agartala in Tripura and Akhaura in Bangladesh is ready, the first train is expected to run from north-east India to the neighbouring nation, Bangladesh on the eve of India’s 75 years of Independence in the year 2022. Singh further stated that the landmark railway line will be completed before 2021-end.
Singh said that his ministry will bear the cost of laying a 5.46 km long track on the Indian side, while the cost of laying a 10.6 km track on the Bangladesh side will be borne by the External Affairs Ministry. The rail line will connect Gangasagar in Bangladesh to India’s Nischintapur and from Nischintapur to Agartala railway station.
