Cross-border railway connectivity drawing India and Bangladesh closer
The cross-border railway links between India and Bangladesh have been playing a significant role in expanding trade, transit, tourism and people-to-people contacts between the two counties. There are 10 cross-border rail routes between the two South Asian neighbours. Among them, six routes have been operationalised. They include: Benapole-Petrapole, Gede-Darshana, Chilahati-Haldibari, Agartala-Akhaura, Rohanpur-Singhabad, and Birol-Radhikapur. The remaining four, namely, Shahbazpur-Mahishasan, Belonia-Feni, Changrabandha-Burimari and Mogalhat-Gitaldaha, will be made opereational in phases.
Currently, three passenger trains run between India and Bangladesh. The Maitree Express from Kolkata to Dhaka via the Gede-Darshana cross-border was introduced in 2008.Reports say at the 36th Inter-Governmental Railway Meeting held in September 2023, the Bangladesh Railway (BR) requested the Indian Railways (IR) to initiate steps to make the Maitree Express more popular and run the train even at night for the convenience of passengers. India agreed to examine the proposal in consultation with the relevant agencies. The weekly Bandhan Express between Kolkata and Khulna through the Petrapole-Benapole cross-border point was introduced in 2017. The weekly Mitali Express from New Jalpaiguri to Dhaka via the Haldibari-Chilahati route was launched in 2022.
To enhance people-to-people ties between the two neighbouring countries, the frequency of two passenger trains, i.e. Maitree Express and Bandhan Express was increased from four days a week to five days and from once a week to twice a week, respectively, from February 2020. Reports suggest that the bilateral talks are in progress to launch fourth passenger train between Kolkata and Dhaka. The recent opening of the landmark Padma Rail Bridge has brightened the prospect of greater rail connectivity between the two countries. During the recent Inter-Governmental Railway Meeting, both the sides discussed the possibilities of enhancing connectivity between them by reopening the Shahbazpur-Mahishasan, Feni-Belonia and Burimari-Chanrabandha cross-border rail links.
Barring the recently-opened Agartala-Akhaura rail link, passenger and cargo trains used to run on the nine cross-border rail routes during the British colonial rule. Most of them were closed after the 1965 India-Pakistan war and a few were discontinued during and after the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh. The Maitree Express, which is the most widely used cross-border passenger service, has been running through the Gede-Darshana route since April 14, 2008. This rail link is part of the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR). In 2002, freight trains were resumed on the Petrapole-Benapole cross-border rail link. Subsequently, a passenger train named Bandhan Express was launched on November 16, 2017 to meet the demands of people from both India and Bangladesh. This rail line will be eventually connected to the TAR.
The 10.72 km Chilahati-Haldibari cross-border rail link was up graded to broad-gauge and inaugurated by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina on December 17, 2020, through video conferencing. Freight train started operation on this route on August 1, 2021. Later on June 1, 2022, a passenger train named Mitali Express from New Jalpaiguri to Dhaka was introduced on this route. This rail link has provided an alternative to the narrow Siliguri Corridor facilitating economic opportunities and more people-to-people interactions between India and Bangladesh.
Built during the British rule, the Chilahati-Haldibari railway line was discontinued after the 1965 India-Pakistan war. The decision to revive the rail route was taken at the 2015 India-Bangladesh Inter-Governmental Railway Meeting. Following that decision, the Government of India (GoI) took up the Rs152 crore rail project in 2018. This cross-border rail route has reduced the distance between India and Bangladesh by 150 km. The Chilahati-Haldibari rail link will facilitate the transshipment of goods from Bangladesh via Mongla Port to North Eastern states, Nepal and Bhutan.
In its bids to further augment trade, transit and connectivity, the Bangladesh government side sought rail connectivity with Bhutan through the Chilahati-Haldibari route. During the November 2023 India visit of the Bhutanese king, New Delhi and Thimphu jointly decided to designate the Chilahati-Haldibari rail link as an additional route for Bhutan’s trade with Bangladesh. In order to boost sub-regional connectivity, this rail route could be extended to Hasimara and further to Jaygaon on the border with Bhutan.
The 10 km railway line from Sighabad in West Bengal connects Bangladesh’s northern border town Rohanpur. Regular freight trains are running on this line since 1990. This cross-border rail link will also be connected to the TAR. The 11 km rail line from Birol in Bangladesh to Radhikapur in India was used for transit operations with Nepal till 2005. But it was closed thereafter when part of the IR was converted to broad-gauge. The Parvatipur-Birol-Birol border in Bangladesh was converted into dual-gauge and train operation resumed on April 8, 2017. As a result, freight train movement started between India and Bangladesh after 12 years.
Efforts are also on to re-open the 11 km Mahishasan-Shahbazpur rail link to enhance connectivity between India’s land-locked Northeast and neighbouring Bangladesh. The cross-border rail route from Mahishasan in southern Karimganj district of Assam to Kulaura in northeastern Maulabibazar district of Bangladesh, via Shahbazpur, was operational till 1965. Some reports say goods train used to run on this rote but was closed on July 7, 2002, for up gradation of railway track. During the British period, the Karimganj district was connected by road, rail and waterway with the rest of India through Bangladesh. Prior to the partition of the sub-continent, the Mahishasan-Shahbazpur rail link was also connected to Myanmar through the Moreh-Tamu border point.
Studies have noted that the development of the Mahishasan railway station and the improvement of navigation on the adjoining Kushiyara river, can play a key role in the expansion of trade and transit connectivity between North East and Bangladesh. The road near the Mahishasan railway station also needs to up graded and extended up to the nearby Sutarkandi Integrated Check Post (ICP) and Karimganj river port to facilitate seamless movement of cargo. Karimganj, which is just 16 km from Mahishasan, is located on the banks of the Kushiyara river and has a functional river port through which trade is conducted with Bangladesh on a small-scale. The river also connects Karimganj with Kolkata via Bangladesh.
According to reports, the government officials of India and Bangladesh discussed expediting work to revive the old Mahishasan-Sahbazpur rail link at a three-day conference in December 2015. At the Nadi 3-Asian Confluence River Conclave held on May 28-29 in Guwahati, India’s External Affairs Minister Dr Subramanyam Jaishankar said once operational, the Mahishasan-Shahbazpur cross-border link will be extended within Bangladesh and connected to the Kulaura-Shahbazpur railway line currently being up graded.
On September 10, 2018, the premiers of the two countries jointly inaugurated the construction of the railway project through video conferencing. The project is being implemented under the Indian concessional line of credit ( LoC) extended to Bangladesh . The IR officials said if this rail link is further extended up to Karimganj, Bangladesh will be connected with the regional railway network and TAR in the future. The TAR is a project of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. The Mahishasan-Shahbazpur link can also be extended up to Akhaura on the Bangladesh side. Akhaura is an important railway junction in eastern Bangladesh, which connects the Chittagong seaport with Dhaka, providing an additional transit facility to India’s North East.