Agartala: Indian Railway on Tuesday made a successful run of a specially designed track car on the newly built railway line for the most ambitious cross-border connectivity between India and Bangladesh from Agartala, which will connect Kolkata via Dhaka.
Railway officials here on Wednesday said that an uninterrupted run of track cars cleared the way for a trial run of a railway engine between Agartala and Gangasagar railway stations in Akhaura, Bangladesh, which took about 75 minutes to reach the zero line at the international border.
Officials said the test train will take a few more days to finalise all necessary preparations.
However, there has been an indication that perhaps the inauguration of Indo-Bangladesh train service will happen on September 9, when the Prime Ministers of both countries will sit together in New Delhi.
The track car, responsible for laying stones on the railway line, has been operational on the route for several days, and thereafter, a trial run of the railway engine will take place, the officials stated.
Meanwhile, Sharat Sharma, head of the project on the Bangladesh side, claimed that around 6.5 kilometres of track have been laid in the Akhaura section and that the entire railway line will be ready for train movement within a week in Bangladesh.
The Ministry of Development of the Northeast Region (DoNER) sanctioned Rs 580 crore for the construction of a railway corridor of 5 km in the Indian part connecting Agartala with Bangladesh in 2016.
The Ministry of External Affairs has also funded the remaining 10 km of railway stretches in Bangladesh territory, which were supposed to be completed five years ago.
