Connecting Neighbours: Trains to run between Assam & Kolkata via Bangladesh

September 21: Trains used to ply from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to Darjeeling via Siliguri till 1965. However, after the 1965 Indo-Pak war, connectivity between the two nations came to a halt. During the last visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh, it was announced that tracks will be laid between Chilahati and Haldibari. During the British rule, there were railway tracks between Haldibari and Chilahati.

The proposal of construction of the railway tracks between Chilahati and Haldibari was long pending. On 21 September, 2019, Md. Nurul Islam Sujan, Railway Minister of Bangladesh and Indian High Commissioner Riva Ganguly Das jointly laid the foundation stone of the construction of railway tracks at Chilahati. The 7.5 kilometre long railway track is expected to provide connectivity from West Bengal to Assam via Bangladesh. There are also plans to construct immigration and customs post. MPs Asaduzzaman Nur & Aftab Uddin Sarkar were present during the foundation stone laying ceremony.

#ConnectingNeighbours 🇮🇳 🇧🇩

HC @rivagdas & #Bangladesh Railway Minister, Md. Nurul Islam Sujan laid foundation stone for up-gradation of 7.5 km railway track & laying of missing tracks from Chilahati to Haldibari,#India. MPs Asaduzzaman Nur & Aftab Uddin Sarkar were present pic.twitter.com/jRwcziPU3Q

— India in Bangladesh (@ihcdhaka) September 21, 2019

Once the up-gradation of 7.5 km railway track & laying of missing tracks from Chilahati to Haldibari track is done and trains starts to run, it will also cut the distance between Assam and West Bengal.