Akhaura-Agartala railway: A milestone of India-Bangladesh railway connectivity

By Samara Ashrat*
The Akhaura-Agartala rail line will be going to be inaugurated soon. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate this rail line along with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September. This project is creating considerable excitement among the people of both of the countries. This connectivity initiative is expected to be a game changer for both India and Bangladesh.
Goods can be transported from other sea ports of India to other states of the North-Eastern region via Agartala from Chittagong and Mongla ports of Bangladesh. As a result, trade in these states will increase as well as it will be possible to transport goods quickly and easily along with reducing the cost of goods transportation.

The project

The Agartala-Akhaura international railway connectivity project is one of India and Bangladesh's most prominent connectivity projects. Akhaura used to be the railway link for Agartala before Independence. Akhaura-Agartala railway line is finally seeing the light. The project is being implemented with an Indian loan. The project officials said that the work of Akhaura-Agartala project has been completed more than 90 percent. The work of laying the railway line is complete.
The railway line, which is 15.064 km long — 5.05 km in India and 10.014 km in Bangladesh — will link Bangladesh's Akhaura, through an international immigration station at Nischintapur, to the outskirts of Agartala. This station will be a dual gauge station for both passenger and goods interchange between India and Bangladesh. The project also includes one major bridge and three minor bridges.
The MoU was signed during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India in January 2010. After that, the project, which started in 2016, is being extended for the fourth time till June 2024. In other words, this project, which has been going on for 13 years, is finally seeing the light of day. The project was supposed to be over in 2020 but was delayed following land acquisition issues and the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 15-kilometre-long railway line would link Bangladesh's Akhaura through an international immigration station at Nischintapur along the India-Bangladesh border.Once operational, the railway will reduce travel time between Agartala and Kolkata from 31 hours to 10 hours, creating a plethora of opportunities for trade, tourism, and cultural exchange.
The Railway Ministry of India allocated Rs 153.84 crore for this project. The Ministry of DONER (Development of North Eastern Region) is funding the project and that Rs 708.74 crore of the estimated cost has already been provided and utilised.This railway link is part of the 16 transit routes that have been declared allowing cargo transportation from Chattogram or Mongla port to Indian states.

Small but effective

Upon completion of this railway link, two Indian states, including Tripura and West Bengal, will easily be connected with Bangladesh.This new railway link will reduce travel time between the two Indian cities of Kolkata and Agartala. The train from Agartala to Kolkata will cover a distance of 500 kilometres via Dhaka in around 16 hours. Upon completion of the project, the travel time between Agartala and Kolkata via Dhaka, which currently takes about 31 hours, will be reduced to 10 hours.
The 15-km long railway link connecting Agartala with Gangasagar will play a crucial role in the overall development of the North Eastern region. Those from Mizoram, which is 150 kilometres away, and those from Agartala will benefit from the current line.
Not only that, India and Bangladesh have signed an agreement, allowing Indian traders to use Chattogram and Mongla ports in Bangladesh for transportation of goods.. This railway will not only increase the movement of the people of two countries but will also play an important role in the import and export of goods from Chittagong port, resulting in a boost in trade and adding value to the economic development of both nations as well as states. Not only that, this railline would boost the tourism sector of both of the countries.
The new rail project will enhance relations between India and Bangladesh and aid in the growth of small-scale industries in the border area and boost tourism in the northeastern region. Facilitating faster export and import of commodities would benefit local producers in exporting their products outside the country.
---
*PhD fellow, International Relations, University of Bucharest

Comments

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C. In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

Election bells ringing in Nepal: Can ousted premier Oli return to power?

By Nava Thakuria* Nepal is preparing for a national election necessitated by the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s government at the height of a Gen Z rebellion (youth uprising) in September 2025. The polls are scheduled for 5 March. The Himalayan nation last conducted a general election in 2022, with the next polls originally due in 2027. However, following the dissolution of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament last year by President Ram Chandra Poudel, the electoral process began under the patronage of an interim government installed on 12 September under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki. The Hindu-majority nation of over 29 million people will witness more than 3,400 electoral candidates, including 390 women, representing 68 political parties as well as independents, vying for 165 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Gig workers hold online strike on republic day; nationwide protests planned on February 3

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers across the country observed a nationwide online strike on Republic Day, responding to a call given by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) to protest what it described as exploitation, insecurity and denial of basic worker rights in the platform economy. The union said women gig workers led the January 26 action by switching off their work apps as a mark of protest.

'Condonation of war crimes against women and children’: IPSN on Trump’s Gaza Board

By A Representative The India-Palestine Solidarity Network (IPSN) has strongly condemned the announcement of a proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza and Palestine by former US President Donald J. Trump, calling it an initiative that “condones war crimes against children and women” and “rubs salt in Palestinian wounds.”

India’s road to sustainability: Why alternative fuels matter beyond electric vehicles

By Suyash Gupta* India’s worsening air quality makes the shift towards clean mobility urgent. However, while electric vehicles (EVs) are central to India’s strategy, they alone cannot address the country’s diverse pollution and energy challenges.

With infant mortality rate of 5, better than US, guarantee to live is 'alive' in Kerala

By Nabil Abdul Majeed, Nitheesh Narayanan In 1945, two years prior to India's independence, the current Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, was born into a working-class family in northern Kerala. He was his mother’s fourteenth child; of the thirteen siblings born before him, only two survived. His mother was an agricultural labourer and his father a toddy tapper. They belonged to a downtrodden caste, deemed untouchable under the Indian caste system.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

MGNREGA: How caste and power hollowed out India’s largest welfare law

By Sudhir Katiyar, Mallica Patel* The sudden dismantling of MGNREGA once again exposes the limits of progressive legislation in the absence of transformation of a casteist, semi-feudal rural society. Over two days in the winter session, the Modi government dismantled one of the most progressive legislations of the UPA regime—the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Fragmented opposition and identity politics shaping Tamil Nadu’s 2026 election battle

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* Tamil Nadu is set to go to the polls in April 2026, and the political battle lines are beginning to take shape. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state on January 23, 2026, marked the formal launch of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign against the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Addressing multiple public meetings, the Prime Minister accused the DMK government of corruption, criminality, and dynastic politics, and called for Tamil Nadu to be “freed from DMK’s chains.” PM Modi alleged that the DMK had turned Tamil Nadu into a drug-ridden state and betrayed public trust by governing through what he described as “Corruption, Mafia and Crime,” derisively terming it “CMC rule.” He claimed that despite making numerous promises, the DMK had failed to deliver meaningful development. He also targeted what he described as the party’s dynastic character, arguing that the government functioned primarily for the benefit of a single family a...

Search This Blog