International Rail terminus at Karimganj; rail link to Bangladesh via Karimganj soon

The Indian railways has proposed to construct an international rail terminus at Karimganj district to facilitate the movement of trains from Assam to Bangladesh via Mahisasan station, track laying of which is likely to get completed by late 2022, a senior railway official said.

The work for reviving the defunct railway transit facility between India and Bangladesh through Mahisasan point on the international border in Karimganj district of Assam is going on in full swing.

“The rail terminus project is in initial stage and we are exploring the required infrastructures. The exact location of the terminus has not been finalized yet” said the official.

Mahisasan is a border railway station on the Indian side. The corresponding station on the Bangladesh side is Shahbajpur in Sylhet district. The Mahisasan-Shahbajpur Meter gauge route has not been operational since December, 1996 due to lack of traffic.

The work for 3 km long rail track on the Indian side of the project is expected to get completed by December this year.

On last Friday, NF Railway GM Anshul Gupta along with senior divisional officers toured the Mahisasan station to take stock of the work. Gupta also discussed the facilities to be constructed which will be necessary for initiating the border route.

“Progress of international rail connectivity work with Bangladesh at Mahishasan station and adjacent station at Karimganj was inspected by GM/NFR Anshul Gupta. Planning, execution of additional facilities planned to enable international trade & business was discussed” NF Railway said in a tweet.

During the pre-independence period, the Karimganj had rail, road and water connectivity with the rest of India and Myanmar, all of which ran through Bangladesh. Post-independence of India, while road and water connectivity was functional for a period, the rail connectivity got disrupted.

Due to the strategic location of Mahisasan station, if the rail route is brought back to operation, it can act as an important business hub for southern Assam and its adjoining areas. It has the potential to remove geographical isolation of the Barak Valley.