Tripura’s transport Mminister Sushanta Chowdhury stated in April that both sides would like to have the link operational by September this year. He was quoted saying 85% of the work on the Indian side and 73% on Bangladesh’s side had been completed. The railway line, which would link Akhaura in Bangladesh to Agartala in India, is expected to slash travel time.

This comes as part of a larger focus on connectivity in the bilateral relationship as both sides hope to improve cross border trade. The two countries have focused on reviving rail links that existed between them prior to the 1965 India-Pakistan war.

“As of now, five BG (broad gauge) connectivity are operational, namely Gede-Darshana, Benapole-Petrapole, Singhabad-Rohanpur, Radhikapur-Birol and Haldibari-Chilahati,” said railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in May. The Haldibari-Chilahati route, which became operational in 2021, was the latest of the pre-1965 routes to be operationalized. “Work on two more cross border rail connectivities, Akhaura-Agartala and Mahihasan-Shahbazpur is progressing well and is likely to be completed and commissioned shortly,” Vaishnaw said. These lines, especially the Agartala-Akhaura line, are expected to spur trade and improve livelihoods for border communities.

Both sides are also discussing proposals to extend rail connectivity for Bangladesh to Bhutan, using India’s railway lines.“India has also been providing free transit to Bangladesh for exporting its products to Nepal and Bhutan. The Bangladesh side also requested rail connectivity with Bhutan through the newly inaugurated Chilahati-Haldibari route. The Indian side agreed to consider the request, based on its viability and feasibility. To make this and other cross border rail links viable, the Indian side requested the Bangladesh side to remove port restrictions, inter alia at the Chilahati – Haldibari crossing,” reads a joint statement from a bilateral meeting between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina in September 2022.

Connectivity has been a major focus of the bilateral relationship as New Delhi and Dhaka seek to boost economic ties. Indian officials recently announced plans to establish 16 new border haats in addition to the existing eight in a move to improve trade between border communities. The two sides are also pushing for talks on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). “The two Leaders welcomed the recent finalization of a Joint Feasibility Study which recommended that Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will be beneficial for both countries,” reads the joint statement from the meeting between the two leaders in September.

Updated: 29 Aug 2023, 10:59 PM IST