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The prime ministers of the two countries inaugurated the new rail link between Chilahati in Bangladesh and Haldibari in India on Thursday at a virtual summit of the two countries.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina joined the meeting via video conference from Dhaka and Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Delhi as her visit was suspended due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said: “We gladly acknowledge the increasing interdependence of the economies of Bangladesh and India. Large numbers of Indian nationals are employed in the Bangladeshi manufacturing and services sectors and send remittances to their home countries in India. On the other hand, India receives the largest number of tourists and medical recipients from Bangladesh.
“I believe that the two countries can further enrich the global and regional value chain by further consolidating our economies, taking advantage of the existing cooperative consensus. Our ongoing communication initiatives can act as a catalyst in this regard. An example is the reopening of the Chilahati-Haldibari rail link ”.
Even after the partition of the country on August 15, 1947, rail traffic continued on this route. At that time, passenger and freight trains ran on this route in different parts of the two countries. After the war between Pakistan and India in 1965, rail service between the two countries was stopped.
The government hopes that the reopening of the railway will boost trade between the Mongla port in Bangladesh and the north and southwest, as well as the northeast part of India, Nepal and Bhutan.
According to the officials of the Ministry of Railways, this railway will make it easier for Bangladeshi tourists to travel to northeast India, including Darjeeling.
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