Kolkata: The much-awaited regular
train service from Agartala to Kolkata and Agartala to Silchar in Assam is
likely to be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week.
Official
sources have said that the Prime Minister is likely to flag off the
Agartala-Sealdah and Agartala-Silchar trains and lay the foundation stone of
the 15-km-long railway line between Agartala and Akhaura in Bangladesh during
his visit to Shillong on May 27 to inaugurate the two-day plenary session of
North Eastern Council. Tripura was
added to the broad gauge map of the country in March but introduction of the
new trains to connect Tripura with the rest of the country was held in abeyance
due to election code of conduct in Assam, which would end on May 19, the
sources said.
The new
train service would reduce the distance between Agartala and Kolkata from 1650
km to 550 km, the sources added. Northeast Frontier Railways earlier announced
that new trains could be introduced any time after May 19.
The Rs 968 crore project for laying the track for Agartala
-Akhaura railway line was settled in January 2010 when Bangladesh Premier
Sheikh Hasina met the then prime minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi. The entire
cost of the project would be borne by India though only 5 km of the 15-km long
track would be in its side and the rest in Bangladesh. The railway line is
likely to enhance trade between the two countries and connect the land locked
north eastern region with Bangladesh railways.
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