Agartala-Akhaura rail link to be operational in September: Tripura Minister Sushanta Chowdhury

India and Bangladesh had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the railway project in 2013

By Pinaki Das

The under-construction railway connectivity between Agartala (India) and Akhaura (Bangladesh) will be operational in September, said Tripura Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury on Friday.

Addressing a press conference, Chowdhury, said that 85 percent of the physical construction work on the India side has been completed, while on the Bangladesh side, 73 percent of the work has been completed. Progress of the work is going on at war footing, and by September, the work shall be completed and rail movement between the two nations shall be operational.

Recently, Chowdhury, during his New Delhi visit, met and discussed with union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnav on the development of railway services and infrastructure in the north-eastern state.

He added, “During our discussion, the Union Railway Minister had over the phone requested G. Kissan Reddy, Minister of the DoNER (Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region) ministry, to immediately allocate an additional 150 crore to expedite the construction of Agartala-Akhaura railway connectivity. We are hopeful that the work will be completed and launched in September.”

On April 11, the DoNER Minister visited the zero point of the Agartala-Akhaura railway line project and reviewed the progress of the Nischintapur railway yard. This project will connect Tripura with Akhaura in Bangladesh.

India and Bangladesh had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the railway project in 2013. However, the project was delayed due to land acquisition issues.

After the completion of the project, the travel time between Agartala and Kolkata via Dhaka will be reduced from 31 hours to 10 hours.

It is anticipated that the opening of this international railway project will significantly improve and expand connection between Bangladesh and India, as well as boost the economies of not only Tripura but also the other North Eastern States.

In addition to this one more India-Bangladesh rail connectivity from Tripura is under consideration the Minister informed adding that after completion of the Agartala-Akhaura there is proposal to construct rail link upto zero point in Belonia to connect with Feni station in Bangladesh which is around 27 Km from there.

Chowdhury has also made a proposal to convert the Lumding (Assam)-Sabroom (Tripura) single railway line track to double line track and expansion of railway connectivity from Belonia (South district) to zero point of Indo-Bangla border.

Chowdhury also informed that he had proposed to upgrade the Agartala railway station in Badharghat to the union railway minister, and is hopeful to lay foundation stone in next 2-3 months.

Additionally, Chowdhury proposed installing two escalators at the Agartala and Dharmanagar railway stations as well as train link between Dharmanagar (North District), Pecharthal (North District), and Kailasahar (Unakoti District).

In the Dharmanagar-Pecharthal-Kailasahar line, 50% of the survey has been completed. The estimated cost of the railway project is at Rs. 1,855 crore.

Furthermore Chowdhury added that the air connectivity between Agartala and Chittagong in Bangladesh will commence soon.

Also Read: Union Minister G Kishan Reddy reviews Agartala-Akhaura Railway Project in Tripura

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