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The train will travel the 513 km distance in about 9-10 hours twice a week from India and back. (Representational)Three days after restarting two cross-border trains stopped amid Covid-19 pandemic, India and Bangladesh jointly flagged off a new passenger train – Mitali Express – on Wednesday.
The new bi-weekly Mitali Express will connect New Jalpaiguri in North Bengal with Dhaka in Bangladesh through Haldibari in India and then Chilahati in Northern Bangladesh. The train will travel the 513 km distance in about 9-10 hours twice a week from India and back.
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The Mitali Express, which was virtually inaugurated by the prime ministers of the two countries on March 27 last year, was flagged off virtually by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and his Bangladeshi counterpart Mohammad Nurul Islam Sujan from New Delhi.
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“Mitali Express will be yet another milestone in strengthening the bond between the two neighbouring countries,” Vaishnaw said.
“The new passenger service, Mitali Express, will give a boost to both countries’ tourism since it connects Bangladesh with north Bengal as well as the northeastern region of India. It will also provide an access to Nepal to Bangladeshi citizens via India by rail,” according to a statement from the Railways ministry.
The Mitali Express will depart from New Jalpaiguri at 11.45 am on Sunday and Wednesday, arriving at the Dhaka Cantonment station at 10.30 pm on the same days. From Dhaka Cantonment it will depart on return journey at 9.50 pm on Monday and Thursday and arrive in New Jalpaiguri at 7.15 am on Tuesday and Friday. The LHB rake of the train consists of four First AC, four AC Chair Car and two Power cars. There will be three classes — AC First (Cabin) Sleeper, AC First (Cabin) seat and AC Chair car, and the fare will be USD 44, USD 33 and USD 22 respectively, the Railways ministry statement said.
Sources said the Bangladesh side is keen that India increases the frequency of the train in the future citing more people-to-people connect.
On Sunday, two other trains, the Kolkata-Dhaka-Kolkata Maitree Express (five days a week) and Kolkata-Khulna-Kolkata Bandhan Express (two days a week) were restarted after being stopped in 2020 due to the onset of the pandemic.
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