Dhaka-Kolkata train service resumes, finally

After a suspension for over two years due to the Covid pandemia, train service between Bangladesh and India has resumed.

Passengers were welcomed by flowers, in a goodwill gesture from the Bangladesh side. Resumption of this critical cross-border service will greatly ease passengers’ movement, Indian High Commission in Dhaka tweeted.

Maitree Express – operated on Dhaka-Kolkata route – left Dhaka Cantonment Station with around 170 passengers at 8:15am on Saturday, confirmed Shafiqur Rahman, divisional railway manager (Dhaka) of Bangladesh Railway.

BR Director General Dhirendra Nath Mazumder welcomed passengers with flowers, he said, adding that Bandhan Express, on Khulna-Kolkata route, is scheduled to start from India's Kolkata at noon.

Moreover, Mitali Express – the third passenger train to be operated between Bangladesh and India – is likely to start operation from June 1. The train would be operated between Dhaka and West Bengal's New Jalpaiguri (NJP) four days a week.