Commercial rail service via Padma Bridge starts Wednesday

Commercial trains operations via Padma Bridge will start on Wednesday (1 November).

The Dhaka-Bhanga section of the project is ready for commercial train movement, Brigadier General Said Ahmed, manager of the Dhaka-Bhanga section of the Padma Bridge railway project, told The Business Standard yesterday.

Meanwhile, a new 64-km Khulna–Mongla Port rail line and another 7.9-km rail line from Akhaura to Agartala aiming for acceleration of passengers and goods transport with India and other regional countries are going to be inaugurated today.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and India's PM Narendra Modi are scheduled to virtually inaugurate these lines at 11:30am developed under the financial support of the Indian government.

The intercity Sundarban Express will leave Khulna at 9:45pm today as the first commercial rail service over the Padma Bridge and the train is scheduled to reach Dhaka via Bhanga at 5:00am the following day.

This journey on the new rail line will take approximately 7 hours and 15 minutes, a significant improvement compared to the existing route, which takes 8 hours and 45 minutes from Khulna to Dhaka via the Jamuna Bangabandhu Bridge.

Additionally, the Benapole Express, another intercity train, will commence operation on the new rail line on 2 November. Departing from Benapole in Jashore at 1 pm, it will reach Dhaka at 8:45pm. The return journey from Dhaka will depart at 11:45pm and reach Benapole at 7:20 am the following day.

This new route will cut the travel time from Dhaka to Benapole from 9 hours and 45 minutes to 7 hours and 35 minutes, offering passengers a time-saving of over two hours.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated a part of the Padma Rail Link project on 10 October.

Distance between Kolkata and Agartala to be reduced by 1,100km

Once the Akhaura–Agartala rail line is operational, the distance between Agartala and Kolkata will be reduced by about 1,100km. Also, travel time will be reduced from 31 hours to 10 hours.

Officials concerned said that the combined cost of the Khulna–Mongla link rail line project and the Akhaura–Agartala rail link project is TK4,704 crore, of which Tk3,335 crore was mobilised by India as loans and grants.

The Khulna–Mongla rail link line will help operate trains from Mongla to some of the western destinations of Bangladesh Railways and also to Dhaka via Khulna and Padma Bridge.

The line aims to operate freight trains to Gede, Radikapur Singhabad of India and also some other destinations of Nepal and Bhutan