Dhaka: The Bangladesh-India passenger train services resumed after two years on Sunday with the flagging off of the Maitree Express train from Dhaka. The train with more than 170 passengers was flagged off from Dhaka Cantonment station by the Director General of Bangladesh Railways Dhirendra Nath Mazumder. He also welcomed the passengers with flowers inside the coaches of the train.
The Bandhan Express between Kolkata and Khulna was also resumed on Sunday with the flagging off of the train at Kolkata. It reached Benapole railway station around 9.45 a.m. local time.
The newly introduced train Mitali Express between New Jalpaiguri and Dhaka will be flagged off jointly by the Railway Ministers of India and Bangladesh on June 1. The bi-weekly train will start from New Jalpaiguri on Sunday and Wednesday at 11.45 hrs IST and reach Dhaka Cantonment at 22.30 BST. The train will not have any commercial stoppage between Dhaka and New Jalpaiguri. It will have 4 first class AC seating coaches, four AC Chair cars and two luggage cum generator vans.
In the return journey from Dhaka Cantonment, the train will run on Monday and Thursday leaving Dhaka Cantonment at 21.50 BST. It will reach New Jalpaiguri station in India at 07.15 hrs IST next morning.
Passenger train services between the two countries had remained suspended for over two year after the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
The resumption of the train services was eagerly awaited in Bangladesh as it provides a convenient and cheap mode of connectivity for the people travelling from Bangladesh to India and back.
