Agartala, Nov 1: The Agartala-Akhaura railway project will reduce the distance between the northeastern states and Kolkata by 500 km via Bangladesh from existing 1600 km via Guwahati.
The Agartala-Akhaura project was virtually inaugurated by Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh on Wednesday.
Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi and PM of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina jointly inaugurated Agartala-Akhaura Cross-Border Rail Link project and Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line Project set to strengthen connectivity and bolster ties between India & Bangladesh.#RailInfra4Northeast… pic.twitter.com/2xfrSGPh6W
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) November 1, 2023
The 12.24 km Agartala-Akhaura railway line (5.46 km in India and 6.78 km in Bangladesh) linked with Bangladesh’s railway station Akhaura through an international immigration station at Nischintapur in western Tripura.
Talking to reporters, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, who also attended the virtual event, said that the Agartala-Akhaura railway project would reduce the rail route distance between the northeastern state and Kolkata to 500 km via Bangladesh from existing 1600 km via Assam’s Guwahati.
“The railway project would not only boost the connectivity of the northeastern states but also flourish tourism, trade and economy. Due to the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi there was a sea change in the connectivity and transportation sectors in the northeastern states,” Saha said.
The Agartala-Akhaura railway project, which is a dual gauge station for both passenger and goods interchange between India and Bangladesh would enable people of the northeastern states, especially Tripura, and southern part of Assam and Mizoram, to visit Kolkata by rail saving 22 hours of travel time.
He said that the escalated cost of the Agartala-Akhaura railway project, which was approved by the governments in July 2016, rose to Rs 1255.10 crore.
The new railway project is part of India’s ‘Act East Policy’, which aims to promote economic cooperation and develop strategic ties with countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
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