India, Bangladesh resume freight train operation via the Haldibari-Chilahati route
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New Delhi, August 03: Boosting the railway connectivity between the two countries, India and Bangladesh resumed the operation of freight trains through the restored Haldibari-Chilahati route on Sunday.
The Haldibari (India)-Chilahati (Bangladesh) rail link was reopened by Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh on December 17, 2020 for movement of passenger and goods traffic.
Indian Railways has dispatched the first freight train loaded with stones from Damdim Station of Northeast Frontier Railway (India) to Bangladesh.
The railway ministry believes that this rail link will encourage the economic & social development of the region and help in the growth of regional trade.
According to the govt, around 20 freight trains per month are expected to be interchanged through this rail link. The link is intended to improve freight and passenger connections between Bengal and Assam regions and will aid the growth of trade and economic development.
The distance between Haldibari Railway Station till the international border is 4.5 km, while that of Chilahati is around 7.5 km till the ‘zero points’.
Indian Railways officials said five links connecting India with Bangladesh have been made operational, including between Petrapole (India) and Benapole (Bangladesh), Gede (India) and Darshana (Bangladesh), Singhabad (India) and Rohanpur (Bangladesh), Radhikapur (India) and Birol (Bangladesh) apart from Haldibari and Chilahati.
The Haldibari–Chilahati rail link between India and then East Pakistan was operational till 1965. This was part of the Broad Gauge main route from Kolkata to Siliguri during the partition.
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Trains traveling to Assam and North Bengal continued to travel through the then East Pakistan territory even after partition.
However, the war of 1965 effectively cut off all the railway links between India and then East Pakistan. A passenger train service, New Jalpaiguri-Dhaka-New Jalpaiguri Mitali Express was announced jointly by Indian PM and Bangladesh PM during the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Dhaka, Bangladesh, on March 27 this year, service of which could not be starte.
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