The Agartala-Akhaura railway project connecting India with Bangladesh is expected to be completed in the next few months, NFR (Northeast Frontier Railway) divisional railway manager JS Lakra said Tuesday. Speaking at a press conference in Agartala, the official said: “The Agartala-Akhaura railway project is under progress and is expected to be over in a few months.” The 15-kilometre-long railway line would link Bangladesh’s Akhaura through an international immigration station at Nischintapur along the India-Bangladesh border. After the completion of the project, the travel time between Agartala and Kolkata via Dhaka would reduce from 31 hours to 10 hours. Notably, the railway link to Agartala used to run through Akhaura during the British era. India and Bangladesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Agartala-Akhaura railway project in 2013. The project was supposed to be completed in 2020 but was delayed following land acquisition issues and the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, talking about other railway projects, Lakra said the Railway Board has sanctioned a survey for a second line between Lumding Badarpur via Lanka-Chandranathpur, which is expected to be completed by March next year, while a survey for a new line connecting Dharmanagar with Pecharthal and Belonia via Kamalpur- Khowai-Agartala in Tripura has been completed. The electrification work on the Lumding-Agartala route is expected to be over by December 2023. Lakra also said that the first-ever Jan Shatabdi Express connecting Agartala to Manipur’s Jiribam will be extended to Khongsang. The train will now cover a distance of 300 kilometres in about six hours. It has been provided with a new LHB rake including a Vistadome coach with the latest amenities for passengers to boost tourism in the north-eastern region, the official added. “We have been continuously taking initiatives to enhance railway connectivity and provide better railway services in the state. But to enhance the weekly train services to biweekly or triweekly, we need additional rakes. We have placed the demand for LHB rakes to the Railway Board. We can enhance train services and facilities with the availability of rakes and line capacity,” Lakra said. The official further said two escalators being constructed at the Agartala railway station will be completed by next month while two escalators have been sanctioned for the Dharmanagar railway station in North Tripura district.
