India, Bangladesh Train Service To Resume From 1 June

Maitree Express and Bandhan Express, two popular trains for Bangladesh already running during pre-Covid times, would be operational again from 1 June.

Besides, New Jalpaiguri-Dhaka Mitali Express, another bi-weekly train service for Bangladesh, would also be made operational by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and his Bangladesh counterpart during the Bangla Railway Minister's visit on 1 June.

The services of five-day week Kolkata-Dhaka Maitree Express and biweekly Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan Express were disrupted due to Covid-19. Now with the situation returning to normal and maximum trains resuming services, there was a heavy demand from both sides for passengers to restart trains, said a senior Railway Ministry official.

For Maitree Express and Bandhan Express, both Indian Railways and Bangladesh Railways provide one rake each for the service.

However, for New Jalpaiguri-Dhaka Mital Express service, which was virtually jointly inaugurated by both the Prime Ministers in March 2021, the rake was provided by Indian Railways only.

The Mitali Express, the new inter-country passenger train was launched on the occasion of 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's birth centenary and golden jubilee of Bangladesh's Independence. The service was expected to start when normalcy is restored.

The relaunching of train services for Bangladesh is expected to increase the people to people contact and also a boost to tourism.

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