India, Bangladesh To Discuss Restarting Train Services At Key Meeting

Following the discontinuation of railway services between India and Bangladesh in 2024 due to security concerns, efforts to restart train services from Kolkata to Dhaka and Khulna and New Jalpaiguri to Dhaka are now taking shape, as the issue is coming up for discussion during the two-day meeting of the Inter-Governmental Railway Meeting (IGRM). This meeting is held every year, and the last meeting took place in New Delhi last year. The IGRM between India and Bangladesh is an annual bilateral forum where railway authorities and ministry representatives from both countries meet to discuss and decide on cross-border train operations, rail infrastructure projects, and freight transit. The process of restarting the Maitree, Mitali and Bandhan Express trains operating between India and Bangladesh will be on the agenda at the meeting this time, and this is the first time since 2024 that the issue will be discussed formally at the annual meeting between the railway authorities of the two countries. The two-day meeting begins in Dhaka on Tuesday, and sources have confirmed to NDTV that if there is a resolution, then the three cross-border trains that originate from Kolkata and New Jalpaiguri could resume services as early as next month. The Maitree Express is an international express train that connects Kolkata and Dhaka. It was the first international train between India and Bangladesh, and it covers a distance of around 375 to 400 km in about 9 hours. The train crosses into Bangladesh through the Gede-Darshana border. The Bandhan Express is an international passenger train that runs between Kolkata and Khulna, and it covers the 180km route in five and a half hours. The train enters Bangladesh through the Petrapole-Benapole border. The Mitali Express is a bi-weekly international express train connecting New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, India, and Dhaka Cantonment in Bangladesh. It was the last international train service to be inaugurated between the two countries, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina flagging off the services jointly in 2021. The train covers the distance of nearly 600 km in around 11 hours and crosses into Bangladesh via the Haldibari-Chilahati border. The Mitali Express rake had been held up in Bangladesh for over five months in 2024 during the unrest in the country. The train had originally left New Jalpaiguri for Dhaka on July 17 but had been unable to return due to political unrest in Bangladesh. With the deteriorating law and order situation in Bangladesh, Indian Railways suspended all three inter-country passenger trains for an indefinite period and the rake returned only in December through the Chilahati-Haldibari border in Cooch Behar District of West Bengal this morning amid heightened security measures Bangladesh is also going to propose launching a new passenger train service from Rajshahi to Kolkata. Bangladesh is also going to propose re-routing the Dhaka-Kolkata Maitree Express via the Padma Bridge instead of its current route. Freight transport via the railways is also going to be on the agenda of the meeting, along with stalled railway projects that are being implemented with loans from India, including the construction of two new railway lines from Kamalapur in Dhaka to Joydebpur in Gazipur. India is also supplying new rakes to Bangladesh. India is set to supply a rake of 19 LHB broad-gauge passenger coaches to the neighbouring country, offering much-needed support to its rail network. The first rake of 19 LHB broad-gauge passenger coaches for Bangladesh Railway has been rolled out from Rail Coach Factory in Punjab's Kapurthala. Bangladesh is set to import 200 broad-gauge railway coaches from India, with the first delivery now being rolled out. The delivery of the 200 coaches is likely to be completed by December 2027 under a Rs 915 crore deal. The project, financed by the European Investment Bank, will see the new coaches being added to the ageing Bangladesh Railway fleet between June 2026 and December 2027.