Indian Railways is playing a vital role to strengthen the bilateral relations between two nations – India and Bangladesh. The national transporter is working to boost rail connectivity across the border and thereby improving the trade between the two countries.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Railways handed over 20 Broad Gauge (BG) locomotives to the neighbouring country. The move aims at an important commitment made during the visit of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to New Delhi in October 2019. Earlier in June 2020, India provided 10 locomotives to Bangladesh as grant. These locomotives are performing well and contributing to smooth movement of rail traffic.
Significance:-
The supply of BG locomotives will help Dhaka to enhance the operations of passenger as well as freight trains. This will also improve the trade and commerce between the two nations. It will also increase the people-to-people contact and thereby bring the two nations closer to each other.Rail connectivity between India and Bangladesh:-
The national transporter is working on a full swing to complete and commissioned the two cross border rail connectivity. These are – (a) Akhaura-Agartala and (b) Mahihasan-Shahbazpur. Presently, there are five BG connectivities: Geda- Darsana, Benapole- Petrapole, Singhabad- Rohanpur, Radhikapur- Birol and Haldibari-Chilahati.
Trains between India and Bangladesh:-
Currently, the national transporter operates three pairs of passenger trains between the two nations. These are: Kolkata-Dhaka Maitree Express, Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan Express and New Jalpaiguri- Dhaka Mitali Express.
Indian Railways – A major exporter of coaches, rakes
The Indian Railways is also emerging as one of the major exporters of coaches and rakes to foreign countries. In March, the national transporter had exported 54 loco-hauled coaches and 30 DEMU coaches (cape-gauge) to Mozambique. The exportation of coaches is a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiatives and also a perfect example of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat.’
