Agartala, Aug 4: Tripura’s capital Agartala has now reserved a place on India’s broad gauge map with the much waited Agartala- Delhi broad gauge passenger rail service recently iugurated by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu in the presence of his Bangladesh counterpart Mohammad Mujibul Haque.
The much awaited ‘Tripura Sundari Express’ weekly passenger train would run between Agartala and the And Vihar station in Delhi, covering a distance of around 2,480 km in 47 hours. With the launch of the passenger train, the mountainous border state of Tripura is now connected to Delhi via Guwahati, which is about 600 km from Agartala.
Prabhu said, “We are committed to bring connectivity with Bangladesh. The relation between India and Bangladesh is very cordial and they (Bangladesh) are cooperative in our initiative. On the Agartala-Akhoura railway link, it would be part of the trans-Asian rail connectivity. Chittagong port is the best port in Asia. We want to connect an Indian railways track with Chittagong port through Sabroom. PM rendra Modi is very keen to make the northeast region a tourist hub.”
Thousands of people gathered to witness the historic launch of the broad gauge railway link. This railway connectivity is the lifeline for millions in Tripura, western Manipur and Mizoram besides southern Assam.
Laxman Parmar, a passenger, said, “I come here for purpose of business and earlier there was difficulty of carrying the goods and in travelling. Proper vehicles and communication system was not available and we often use to miss the bus and ultimately our travelling use to get delay. But the launch of this railway connectivity has bought lots of positivity and no such problem will arise now. I am thankful to the government.”
Abhishek, another passenger, said, “Earlier, people often use to face difficulties of connectivity especially people like us who travels from places like Bihar, Delhi and only option left was travelling by air but with the launch of this rail connectivity, travelling will become much easier and smoother. It will also curb our travelling expenses.”
The new train will stop at Ambasa, Dharamgar, Karimganj, Badarpur, New Halflong, Lemding, Jagi Road, Guwahati, New Bongaigaon, New Jalpaiguri, Katihar, Barauni, Patliputra Junction, Mughalsarai, Allahabad and Kanpur Central. The foundation stone for a 15-km-long railway line between India and Bangladesh was also laid by Prabhu in the presence of state dignitaries. India will fund this intertiol rail project at a cost of Rs. 580 crores.
Prime Minister rendra Modi during his visit to Dhaka in June last year has laid the foundation stone to construct a bridge over Feni river, adjoining Sabroom, to connect the town with Bangladesh’s hill town Khagrachari.
Such development will open another railway link between the two neighbours after the existing Kolkata-Dhaka and proposed Agartala-Akhaura rail links. (ANI)