Agartala, June 10 (bdnews24.com)—An eight-member delegation of Indian Railways Board have finalised the proposed railway link between Agartala with Akhaura via Gangasagar in Bangladesh.
"The new alignment which will be very helpful to both countries has been finalised on the basis of joint spot survey by the members of Indian and Bangladesh railways," said B N Rajsekhar, additional member, Planning, Railways Board during a press conference in the capial of Tripura state.
"Things became more active after the visit of honourable prime minister of Bangladesh to this country (India)."
The detailed project report (DPR) has already been prepared for the project and the work is expected to be completed within 2.5 years time if everything goes well.
"The Indian railway ministry has approved Rs 267 crore for laying 15 km of railway track to connect Agartala with Akhaura via Gangasagar in Bangladesh," Rajsekhar said.
The Indian Railway Construction Company (IRCON) will execute the project of which five km falls in the Indian side while 10 km will be constructed in Bangladesh.
The entire cost of the project including the part in Bangladesh, a grant, will be borne by the Indian government.
Initially, the line will be a meter gauge with all facilities for converting it into broad -gauge when necessary.
India will also construct an additional rail line from Gangasagar to Akhaura parallel to existing line for smooth movement of traffic to run more trains on this route.
India is also establishing another rail link from Agartala to Subroon, the southern border town of Tripura from where the Chittagong sea port is just 72 km away.
When the Chittagong port opens up, Tripura is expected to be the gateway for India to Southeast Asia.
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