Haldibari-Chilahati route revival: First train to arrive in Bangladesh on August 1
A goods train, carrying wheat and boulders, is expected to travel from India's Haldibari into Bangladesh on August 1 (Sunday) -- on a rail route revived by the two countries after 56 years.
Yesterday, the Indian Railways conducted a training session for four locomotive pilots and an equal number of guards. A locomotive went to Chilahati in Bangladesh with a team of Indian Railway officials, reports our New Delhi correspondent.
On Sunday, the freight train -- consisting of 30 wagons carrying wheat and boulders -- is set to enter Parbatipur, Bangladesh. More trains are likely to follow, North East Frontier Railways Chief PRO Subhanan Chanda said.
The Haldibari-Chilahati rail link was remotely inaugurated by Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina and Narendra Modi on December 20 last year.
Once operational, the link is expected to see goods trains moving from New Jalpaiguri (NJP) in India to Dhaka via Nilphamari, Jamalpur and Nasirabad.
The movement of passenger train from NJP to Kolkata via Chilahati, Domar, Toronbari, Nilphamari, Saidpur, Darshana and Parbatipur in Bangladesh and Gede border are also in pipeline.
The revival of Haldibari-Chilahati rail link, which was snapped by the India-Pakistan war in 1965, is part of efforts by India and Bangladesh to promote connectivity for greater trade and people-to-people contacts.
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