New railway stretch in Bangladesh funded by Indian Line of Credit will enhance connectivity from Dhaka

In another instance of India assisting Bangladesh in augmenting its rail connectivity, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina virtually inaugurated the start of the priority stretch between Joydebpur-Tongi as part of the Dhaka-Tongi-Joydebpur rail line project on Thursday.

The project has been funded under an Indian concessional Line of Credit (LoC) to Bangladesh.

Giving this information on Twitter, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka described the project as a testament to the strong and enduring partnership between the two countries.

According to a report by All India Radio, the 11-kilometre long dual-gauge double line from Tongi to Jaydebpur will help in increasing the operational capacity of the railway for running a greater number of train trips on this stretch of railway route. This section is used for travel from Dhaka to different parts of the country.

In July 2018, Bangladesh Railway had signed a contract with a joint venture of two Indian companies to construct 3rd and 4th dual gauge tracks on Dhaka-Tongi and dual gauge double line on Tongi-Joydebpur sections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart had jointly inaugurated construction work on these projects in September 2018.

Bangladesh is also developing a new direct Rail Link from Bogura to Shahid M. Mansur Ali Station, Sirajganj under a Government of India LoC.

The new railway route will establish a shorter dual gauge link between Bangladesh's western & northern parts as well as Eastern & Southern parts via Dhaka. This will reduce rail distance by over 100 kms and save travel time from Dhaka to Bangladesh’s northern districts by around three hours.

These are part of a slew of connectivity projects in Bangladesh that are being funded under an Indian Line of Credit.