Context:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina virtually inaugurated a rail link connecting Northeast India with Bangladesh.
Relevance:
GS III: Infrastructure
Dimensions of the Article:
- Akhaura-Agartala Rail Link
- Significance
Akhaura-Agartala Rail Link
- The Akhaura–Agartala rail line is a railway connection between India and Bangladesh.
- In 2013, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the governments of India and Bangladesh to establish this rail link, and the project was initiated in 2016.
Route Details:
- The rail line connects Akhaura in Bangladesh to the outskirts of Agartala, the capital of Tripura.
- It features a 12.24 km length, with a 6.78 km Dual Gauge rail line in Bangladesh and a 5.46 km section in Tripura.
Transit Routes and Funding:
- This rail link is part of the 16 transit routes declared, allowing the transportation of cargo from Chattogram or Mongla port in Bangladesh to various Indian states.
- The project is entirely funded by the Government of India, with the Ministry for Development of North East Region (DoNER) funding the work on the Indian side and the Ministry of External Affairs covering the expenses on the Bangladesh side.
Significance:
- Tripura shares an 856 km-long international border with Bangladesh and relies on limited road connectivity through Assam and a narrow strip of land in West Bengal’s Siliguri.
- The Akhaura–Agartala rail link will substantially reduce travel time between Agartala and Kolkata via Dhaka.
- Currently, the rail journey from Agartala to Kolkata, approximately 1600 km, takes 38 hours as it passes through Guwahati, Assam.
- With the completion of this rail line, the travel time will be cut down to approximately 10 hours.
- The distance between Agartala and Kolkata will effectively shrink from 1,600 km to 500 km.
- This rail link will enable cost-effective transportation of goods trains to the northeastern region through Bangladesh.
- It will also establish a direct connection between landlocked northeastern India and the Chittagong port in Bangladesh.
-Source: Times of India
