The much-awaited Agartala-Akhaura rail link project has been inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina virtually. This cross border project will enhance the business ties between the two nations and will provide a direct access between landlocked north eastern part of the country with the Chittagong port of the neighbouring country.
IRCON, CPSE of Railways is the executing agency for the Indian side and also Project Management Consultant (PMC) for Bangladesh Railways. Earlier, the project was scheduled to be completed by the year 2020. However, due to various reasons, the project gets delayed.
Trial run on Akhaura-Agartala rail route – Watch Video
The national transporter on October 30 (Monday) conducted the trial-run on the newly built Akhaura-Agartala rail route. The locomotive engine attached with four wagons entered Tripura through the border.
Before entering to the Indian side of Nischintapur near Agartala, the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel carried out the screening of the engine and attached wagons to it.
Distance and Travel time from Agartala to Akhaura
Upon operationalisation of this ambitious rail project, it will cut travel time of rail journey from Kolkata to Agartala (via Guwahati) of 31 hours and 1500 km to just 10 hours and 500 kms.
Cost of Agartala-Akhaura rail connectivity:-
The anticipated cost for completion of the Indian portion under the project is Rs 862.58 crore. Of these, the national transporter had allocated Rs 153.84 crore from its budget to expedite the project work. According to the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), the national news agency of Bangladesh, the cost of construction of 6.78 kilometers of railway in Bangladesh is estimated to be around Taka 241 crore.
History of Akhaura-Agartala rail link project:-
It was during the visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to New Delhi in January 2010, the two countries agreed to lay the tracks from Akhaura in Brahmanbaria to Nischintapur of Agartala. The construction of a 15.064-km-long new railway line was started in 2018. Of these, a 5.05-km-long rail route falls in India and the remaining 10.014-km-long rail route falls in Bangladesh.
Significance of Akhaura-Agartala rail link project:-
The Agartala-Akhaura railway link will boost the bilateral relations and promote tourism, trade and cultural exchange between the two nations. It will also help in growth of small scale industries in the border area and boost tourism of the NE region. It will also help in export and import of commodities faster and help the local producers to export their products outside the country faster. The project is also an example of PM Modi’s vision of ‘Act East Policy’.