The cross-border train services between Bangladesh and India will remain closed between July 6 and July 14 due to the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha, according to the Bangladesh Railway officials.
Currently, three trains are running between the two countries – the Mitali Express on the Dhaka–New Jalpaiguri route, the Maitree Express on the Dhaka–Kolkata route and the Bandhan Express on the Khulna–Kolkata route.
Railway director (traffic) Mizanur Rahman told New Age that services of the Mitali Express would remain closed between July 6 and July 14 due to Eid.
Services of the Maitree Express and the Bandhan Express would remain closed between July 7 and July 14, he added.
The Mitali Express on the Dhaka–New Jalpaiguri route via Chilahati in Nilphamari in Bangladesh and Haldibari in India began its journey on June 1 this year after a gap of 57 years.
The train communications on this route came to an end following the India-Pakistan war in 1965, and later in December 2020, freight train services on the route between the two countries resumed, according to the railway officials.
On March 26, 2021, prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi inaugurated the Mitali Express.
But due to the outbreak of delta variant of Coronavirus in India and Bangladesh, the train service was delayed till June 1.
On May 29 this year, the Maitree Express and the Bandhan Express restarted their international trip.
The cross-border train services of the Maitree Express and the Bandhan Express were launched in 2008 and in 2017 respectively.
– With New Age input
