India to Expand Rail Network Along Bangladesh Border

Agartala, Feb 12 : India will extend its railway network to two more places along the India-Bangladesh border by 2014 to improve connectivity between the two countries, it was announced Thursday.

The two border points are Sabroom in southern Tripura and western Tripura’s Akhaurah, just six kilometers from the Agartala railway station.

Bangladesh operates train services on its side up to Akhaurah.

Train services were resumed in April 2008 between Kolkata and Dhaka. The service was suspended after the 1965 war between India and Pakistan when Bangladesh was then Pakistan’s eastern wing.

‘By 2014, the ongoing works of railway connection up to bordering town Sabroom would be completed,’ Northeast Frontier Railway general manager Shiv Kumar told reporters here.

He said: ‘India and Bangladesh have agreed to connect Agartala-Akhaurah by rail line. This would be completed before 2014.’