Indian Railways Hands Over 20 Broad Gauge Locomotives to Bangladesh
New Delhi – In a significant move to bolster bilateral relations, Indian Railways virtually flagged off the handover of 20 Broad Gauge (BG) locomotives to Bangladesh in a ceremony held at Rail Bhavan, New Delhi. The event, presided over by Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways, witnessed the participation of Md. Nurul Islam Sujan, Minister of Railway from Bangladesh. The ceremony was attended by A.K. Lahoti, Chairman & CEO of Railway Board, board members, senior officials from the Railway Board, and delegates from Bangladesh.
The transfer of these diesel locomotives, provided as a grant assistance from the Government of India, fulfills an important commitment made during the visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina to India in October 2019. Keeping in mind the requirements of Bangladesh Railway, the Indian side has made suitable modifications to the locomotives. These locomotives will greatly contribute to handling the increasing volume of passenger and freight train operations in Bangladesh.
Speaking at the ceremony, Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasized the deep-rooted civilizational, cultural, social, and economic relationship between India and Bangladesh. He acknowledged the proactive role played by the Prime Ministers of both countries in improving bilateral ties across various sectors. Indian Railways has been instrumental in enhancing and strengthening rail connectivity across the border and facilitating trade between the two nations. Presently, five BG connectivity routes are operational, including Geda-Darsana, Benapol-Petrapol, Singhabad-Rohanpur, Radhikapur-Birol, and Haldibari-Chilahati. Work on two additional cross-border rail connectivities, namely Akhaura-Agartala and Mahihasan-Shahbazpur, is progressing well and expected to be completed and commissioned soon.
In his virtual address, Md. Nurul Islam Sujan, Minister of Railway, Bangladesh, expressed gratitude to the Indian government for their support. He highlighted that India had previously provided 10 locomotives to Bangladesh as a grant in June 2020. The provision of these broad gauge locomotives will contribute to the improvement of both goods and passenger train services. He expressed optimism that the collaboration between the two countries in the railway sector will continue to strengthen.
To promote people-to-people contact, there are currently three pairs of passenger trains operating between India and Bangladesh, namely the Kolkata-Dhaka Maitree Express, Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan Express, and New Jalpaiguri-Dhaka Mitali Express.
Rail trade between the two countries has witnessed consistent growth, with an interchange of nearly 100 cargo trains per month. In the last financial year, approximately 2.66 million metric tons of cargo were sent to Bangladesh. The export commodities include stone, DOC (De-oiled Cake), food grains, china clay, gypsum, maize, onions, and other essential items as per demand from India. Since 2020, permission has been granted to operate parcel containers and NMG (New Modified Goods) rakes, which typically carry agricultural products, fabrics, finished goods, light commercial vehicles, and tractors. A new traffic stream of geo-synthetic bags has recently commenced, and three parcel trains have been dispatched from Gujarat.
In line with India’s commitment to improving rail services in Bangladesh, 10 BG diesel locomotives were handed over to Bangladesh on a grant basis in July 2020. According to reports from Bangladesh, these locomotives have been performing well and have contributed significantly to the smooth movement of rail traffic within the country.
