Modi-Hasina inaugurates India-Bangladesh Railway project; Barak Valley to have international trains

By barakbulletin On September 10, 2018 - 8:14 pm

Marking a landmark moment for Barak Valley, Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh announced the inauguration of an India-Bangladesh Railway project. Yes, Barak Valley is set to be a gateway to international Railway service once again. In order to establish inter-country communication between India and Bangladesh as part of the Trans-Asian Railway Network, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting in Delhi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from office in Dhaka unveiled the foundation stone of Shahbazpur-Kulaura railway project over a video conference. At the same time, construction of the Agartala-Akhaura railway line and the work of 500 MW power project were also inaugurated.

In the inaugural speech, Prime Minister Modi said that all efforts are being made to improve communication between India and Bangladesh. The Railway is a pivotal part of the communication plans and this project is an indication of that.

The Shahbazpur station is located in the Karimganj district of Barak Valley. In 1896, this Shahbazpur-Kulaura section was started by the British. After frequent mishaps due to lack of maintenance, the railway service between the two region was suspended on July 7, 2002. Back then it was a metre-gauge track. As a part of the proposed plan, the route will now have a dual line, which means both trains will run in both metre-gauge as well as broad-gauge. tracks. The 53-kilometre long project work is scheduled to be completed in two years. The project is estimated to cost around Rs 678.5 crore and the contract has been handed over to an Indian company called Kalindi Railway Construction.