Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav flagged off the third India-Bangladesh passenger train ‘Mitali Express’.
Highlight
- Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and his Bangladeshi counterpart flagged off Mithali Express today
- Mithali Express train will run between New Jalpaiguri (India) and Dhaka (Bangladesh)
- This is the third passenger train between the two countries which was flagged off from Rail Bhavan today.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and her Bangladeshi counterpart Mohammad Nurul Islam Sujon on Wednesday (June 1) flagged off the ‘Mitali Express’ between New Jalpaiguri (India) and Dhaka (Bangladesh) via video conferencing.
This is the third passenger train between the two countries which was flagged off from Rail Bhawan in New Delhi today.
Mithali Express is a milestone in enhancing friendship between India and Bangladesh: Ashwini Vaishnav
Speaking on the occasion, Railway Minister Vaishnav called Mithali Express “another milestone” in cementing the friendship between the two countries.
“The relationship between India and Bangladesh is based on our shared heritage, our shared present and our shared future. The development that we have in both the countries today has been greatly accelerated by the warm friendship between the two countries at all levels.” They said.
The Railway Minister said, “Mithali Express will prove to be another milestone in enhancing this friendship, strengthening this bond, improving this relationship.”
The Union Minister recalled India’s aid to the neighboring country during the COVID pandemic and said that India had transported around 4,000 tonnes of liquid oxygen and this was another small contribution to the friendship between the two countries.
Bangladeshi Railway Minister Mohammad Nurul Islam Sujan remembers Indian soldiers
Bangladesh Railway Minister Mohammad Nurul Islam Sujon, speaking on the occasion, remembered the Indian soldiers who laid down their lives for the liberation of Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan).
The minister also mentioned his government’s plan to convert all railway tracks to broad gauge so as to be at par with neighboring countries.
Know the details about the newly introduced trains:
New Jalpaiguri – Dhaka Cantonment train, 13132, will run twice a week, i.e. on Sunday and Wednesday and for return journey, train number 13131, Dhaka Cantonment – New Jalpaiguri, Mithali Express will run on every Monday and Thursday.
The train will cover a distance of about 513 km between New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal and Dhaka Cantonment in Bangladesh in nine hours. As of now, the train will run with four air-conditioned cabin coaches and four air-conditioned chair cars and will be operated by a diesel locomotive.
Suvendhu Kumar Choudhary, DRM, Katihar Division, Northeast Frontier Railway said, “We are ready to start the services, the train is ready with maximum facilities. Around 15-20 passengers have already booked their tickets for the first journey. “
(with ANI inputs)
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