[170518.EN.BIZ] Bangladesh to Build 126 Kilometres Railway to India

BANGLADESH will build a 126-kilometre, US$500 million double-track railway in the southwest to facilitate trade and passenger flow with India using a second line of credit from India and financing from the Bangladesh government.

The new railway will facilitate transit between India's Gede railway station and Bangladesh's Khulna district, with the latter ultimately being connected to the Mongla seaport reported IHS Media.

For shippers, there would be a 10 per cent reduction in transport costs, compared to truck transport. The time saving would be one day for the rail transport, compared to three weeks, due to road traffic congestion and other delays by truck.

"The double line will help increase train trips and be faster. With a single line, currently trains need to wait at crossings, which increase the journey time," said Bangladesh Railway official Kalikanta Ghosh.

Mr Ghosh said currently Bangladesh's main rail connection to India is through Darshana railway station in Chuadanga district. Everyday two to three trains with passengers and cargo travel to India through Darshana railway station. He said in 2017 Bangladesh's railway carried 72,000 TEU.

"Since the rail track is doubled, the frequency will also rise, since both India and Nepal want to use Chittagong and Mongla ports," Mr Ghosh noted.

India is interested in using the two Bangladeshi seaports for goods transport to its remote, seven-sister states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.

In addition, Nepal wants to use Chittagong and Mongla ports for its external trade and bypass using Indian ports in Kolkata. A Nepalese high-level delegation is scheduled to check the condition of the transit route in Bangladesh next week, before sending cargo-laden trucks toward Chittagong and Mongla ports.

Mr Ghosh said a trial-run container train completed its India-to-Dhaka trip during the first week of April. Regular service, featuring two trains a week, will start in the next week or two.

Source : HKSG.