Bangladesh receives 20 train engines as a ‘token of friendship’ from India

India pledged the train engines as a gift during Sheikh Hasina’s visit to the neighbouring country in September

Bangladesh has received 20 locomotives for broad-gauge rail links from the Indian government as a “token of friendship”.

The rail engines were handed to Bangladesh at the Darshana-Gede interchange point on Tuesday in a ceremony virtually inaugurated by Indian Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said.

Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan accepted the locomotives on behalf of the people of Bangladesh.

India pledged the train engines as a gift during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to the neighbouring country in September 2022.

“The locomotives were given as a token of friendship from India, hoping that they would add to the ease and comfort of rail travel in Bangladesh,” the Indian railways minister said in the ceremony.

Vaishnaw said that “enhancing multi-modal connectivity was a priority for both Governments and that railway, in particular, had the potential to transform the economies of both countries as well as the entire sub-region.”

Bangladesh is India’s largest development partner, with projects worth nearly $10 billion, Vaishnaw said, adding that rail connectivity is one of the key components of the bilateral development partnership of both countries.

“Railway sector projects of over $300 million under Indian Line of Credit having been completed already, and projects worth over $1.69 billion are at various stages of implementation,” the Indian railways minister said.

He said that several projects are ongoing in India to enhance cargo handling capacity and efficiency, and Bangladesh can also take such projects for developing the country’s rail service.

The Indian minister also offered to share the Indian experience with “electrification of the railway network with Bangladesh", calling it a way forward to enhance efficiency and reduce carbon footprint.