The plan to run a regular passenger train between Kolkata and Dhaka is likely to get delayed with the Indian Government adopting a “go slow” line on the project. Alarmed at the rising rate of infiltration from Bangladesh and the political situation there, the Indian Government is learnt to have asked the Railways Ministry to desist from negotiating any modalities with authorities in Bangladesh regarding the introduction of the train between Sealdah, in Kolkata, and Joydevpur in Dhaka. This was evident during a meeting of the two sides at Rail Bhavan on Monday, where the Indian delegation comprising officials from Railways and External Affairs Ministries, chose to keep mum on the passenger train. However, issues relating to goods trains were discussed at the meeting. Though briefly brought up by the Bangladeshi delegation, the topic elicited little response from the Indian side. Confirming this, senior Railway officials said: “Everything, from rolling stock to staff, has been put in place. A broad-guage link between Kolkata and Dhaka is ready. Running a train on the route is not an issue here. However, a political decision is yet to be taken.”Meanwhile, a couple of trial runs, carrying government officials from both the countries, have been conducted in the past few months. Indian Railways officials, however, said that issues ranging from fencing the no-man’s land to setting up Customs and Immigration facilities along the border were still unresolved and were adding to the delay.
