Commercial railway link restored between India & Bangladesh after 50 years

Aug 2: Commercial services on a railway link between India and Bangladesh resumed on Sunday after over 50 years. The restored rail link was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina on December 17, 2020. With the restoration of the railway services, regular operation of freight trains through the restored Haldibari – Chilahati rail route will strengthen railway connectivity and bilateral trade between the two countries.

The Haldibari-Chilahati rail link is the fifth rail link between Bangladesh and India that has been made operational. The commodities that can be exported from India to Bangladesh through this rail route include stones and boulders, food grain, fresh fruits, chemical fertilizer, onion, chilly, garlic, ginger, fly ash, clay, limestone and wood. From Bangladesh to India all exportable commodities are permitted.

Indian Railways dispatched the first freight train loaded with stones to Bangladesh. The stone chips laden goods train with 58 wagons rolled out of Dimdima station in Alipurduar at 10.30 am on Sunday. Its destination is Chilahati in Bangladesh via Haldibari. The distance between Haldibari Railway Station to the international border is 4.5 km and 7.5 km from Chilahati till the ‘zero point’.

The Ministry of Railways in a statement in December 2020 said, “The Haldibari-Chilahati rail link was operational till 1965. However, the (Indo-Pak) war of 1965 effectively cut off all railway links between India and the then East Pakistan.”