Long wait, train on the Chilahati-Haldibari route (video)

Nilphamari: After 55 years of long waiting, a rail link between Chilahati in Bangladesh and Haldibari in India was put into operation.

Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan also inaugurated train service at Chilahati Train Station on Thursday (December 16) at 12:45 pm after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Narendra Modi blew the whistle. through videoconference.

Immediately after the inauguration, a locomotive with 30 freight racks and two security racks from the Chilahati train station crossed the border from Bangladesh into Haldibari in India. The conductor Sahidul Islam was in the railway fleet. Saiful Islam, Kamal Sarkar and Shahjahan Ali, three assistant drivers, operated the locomotive. It was led by Director (Guard) Afzal Hossain and Sahidul Islam.

Trade Minister Tipu Munshi, MP Nilphamari-1 Aftab Uddin Sarkar, MP Nilphamari-4 Ahsan Adelur Rahman, MP Rabeya Alim reserved seat, Railway Secretary Selim Reza, General Manager of the Western Railway Zone Mihir Kanti Guha were present on the occasion. Chief Engineer Al Fatta Masudur Rahman, Chief Signal and Telecommunications Engineer Sushil Kumar Haldar, Business Director Ahsan Ullah Bhuiyan and others.

The Chilahati-Haldibari Railway was closed in September 1965 after the Indo-Pakistani War. Thousands of people applauded on both sides of the railway line from Chilahati train station to Zero Point to rejoice in the festive atmosphere.

According to relevant sources, even before 1947, there was communication between railways and highways. For this reason, an international checkpoint was created in 1953. Although the land port was opened in 1960, the land port was closed in 1965 due to the Indo-Pakistani war. The railway was uprooted to the border of the two countries. The checkpoint was also closed in 2002. When the governments of both countries decided to reopen the railway in 2010, work began in 2016 through a survey. After that, when the 4.34 km installation work in India and 1.5 km in Bangladesh was completed, the golden dream came true.

Golam Quddus Ayub, chairman of the Domar Railway Protection Committee, told banglanews that there is a huge trade deficit between Bangladesh and India. It is possible to greatly reduce it by using this land port. Not only that, the distance between Nepal and Bhutan is less in this way, there is also the possibility of commercial expansion. However, to seize this opportunity, concerned policy makers must develop a conscious action plan.

Deputy Commissioner Hafizur Rahman Chowdhury said that rail communication between the two countries is off to a good start after 55 years with the operation of freight trains. Passenger trains will open on March 26. The passenger train will depart from Dhaka and head to Siliguri, India.

Bangladesh time: 2024 hours, December 18, 2020
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