Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan said on Thursday that trains from across the country will soon go to Cox’s Bazar as the Dohazari-Cox’s Bazar rail line will be opened to public within June next year. The minister said this while talking to journalists at the station in Cox’s Bazar after visiting the Dohazari-Cox’s Bazar railway project on Thursday. “Rail connection with Cox’s Bazar, which was once a dream is finally on its way to fulfillment. Like the people of Cox’s Bazar, people from all over the country are waiting eagerly to go there by train. I hope that the work of laying down rail tracks will end within the stipulated time,” Sujan said. The minister added that the government has taken up a new project to purchase high quality tourist coaches for the Cox’s Bazar route. Read: Much-loved train journeys to Cox’s Bazar likely in 2 years “We’ll buy a total of 54 coaches with large windows so that people travelling to Cox’s Bazar can enjoy the natural beauty from their seats. About 80  percent work of this project has been completed already,” Sujan added. The minister visited different floors of the railway station being built in Cox’s Bazar. Project officials said that the construction work of the railway building will be completed within April, 2023. Later, Sujan inspected 30 kilometres of rail tracks by an inspection car. As of yet, 60km rail tracks have been laid down. According to project officials, a total of 100km single line and dual gauge rail line is being constructed between Dohazari and Cox’s Bazar. There will be 39 major bridges and 242 culverts in this rail line. Besides, underpasses and overpasses are being built for the movement of elephants. Read: Dhaka-Cox's Bazar train service still a distant reality as project limps along Once established, the Dohazari-Cox’s Bazar rail line will connect the region with Trans Asian Railway. The entire nation will come under rail connectivity with Cox’s Bazar, the topmost tourist place of the country. Besides, the rail track will ease the transportation of fish, raw materials of rubber, salt and other agricultural products to and from the coastal district. Member of Parliament Shaimum Sarwar Kamal, Additional Director General (ADG) of Bangladesh Railway (BR) Kamrul Ahsan and Managing Director (MD) of BR (East) Jahangir Hossain, among others, were present during Sujan’s visit.

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiswami on Monday discussed with Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan boosting cooperation in rail communication between their two countries. The two discussed the current and future projects taken up by the Bangladesh government under Indian finance. The Indian HC proposed to launch a fourth interstate rail service at the meeting at railway minister’s office. The Indian envoy said that at present, three trains named Maitree, Bandhan and Mitali Express are running between the two countries. Due to demands from the passengers, another train can be added to the fleet. The Railways Minister’s recent India tour also came up during the discussion. Sujan said that during his tour, he had visited a factory where modern railway coaches were being built. Sujan expressed his eagerness to buy high quality tourist coaches from India for the Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar route. He also expressed his interest to buy railway engines and luggage vans under Indian line of credit (LoC). Read: Dhaka, Delhi will soon be connected through 6 rail links: Shringla During the discussion, Sujan stressed the need for strengthening Bangladesh’s connectivity with Nepal and Bhutan. With this in mind, the minister put emphasis on strengthening the Chilahati-Haldibari rail route. A new rail line is being built between Panchagarh and Banglabandha. The Indian government is yet to fix the place where the rail line will end. The minister urged the Indian envoy to ramp up the process of selecting the site. Read: Bangladesh-India train connectivity resumes after 2 years Sujan and Doraiswami also discussed various projects undertaken by the Bangladesh government under Indian LoC, including Bogura-Sirajganj rail lines, Khulna-Mongla rail lines, and the third and fourth rail lines from Dhaka to Tongi.   Md Humayun Kabir, secretary of the Railways Ministry and Dhirendra Nath Majumder, Director General (DG) of Bangladesh Railway were present at the meeting. 

Bangladesh and India on Sunday started regular operation of freight trains through restored Haldibari-Chilahati rail route, aiming to "strengthen rail connectivity and bilateral trade" between the two countries.  It will also enhance rail network accessibility to the main ports and dry ports to support the growth in regional trade and to encourage economic and social development of the region, said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka on Sunday.  Read:After 56 yrs, Bangladesh-India rail link to reopen Sunday The Haldibari- Chilahati rail link is the fifth rail link between Bangladesh and India that has been made operational. The commodities that can be exported from India to Bangladesh through this rail route include stones and boulders, food grain, fresh fruits, chemical fertilizer, onion, chilies, garlic, ginger, fly ash, clay, limestone and wood. From Bangladesh to India all exportable commodities are permitted. Indian Railways dispatched the first freight train loaded with stones from Damdim station of Northeast Frontier Railway to Bangladesh. After the partition in 1947, 7 rail links were operational between India and the then East Pakistan (up to 1965).  Read:BR Masterplan: Riding train to a prosperous future?

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Saturday reiterated the importance of enhancing connectivity for facilitating regional economic integration for the benefit of all parties involved. To facilitate better connectivity and simplify movement of passengers and goods between the two neighbouring countries, both leaders agreed to an early operationalisation of the BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement through expeditious signing of the enabling MoU for Bangladesh, India, and Nepal to commence the movement of goods and passengers, with provision for Bhutan to join at a later date. India expressed gratitude for Prime Minister Hasina’s initiative of revitalising the pre-1965 rail connectivity as well as for Bangladesh’s support for the numerous connectivity initiatives through rail, road and waterways, according to joint statement issued on the occasion of the visit of Prime Minister of India to Bangladesh. In the same spirit, Bangladesh reiterated its eagerness to partner in the ongoing initiative of the India–Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway project. Bangladesh side also requested India for favourable consideration of the new connectivity routes proposed by Bangladesh, namely allowing additional land ports of Bhadrapur-Bairagi Galgalia, Biratnagar-Jogmani and Birganj-Raxaul to be connected with Banglabandha-Fulbari and Birol-Radhikapur by road as alternative routes. India was also requested to consider connecting Birol-Radhikapur and Rohanpur-Singhabad rail-interchanges with Biratnagar-Jogmani as this would help reduce the distance and cost of transportation of goods by rail from Bangladesh to Nepal. Bangladesh side also sought rail connectivity with Bhutan through the newly inaugurated Chilahati-Haldibari route. Also read: Hasina seeks fair share of Teesta water

The Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line project will be completed within December this year and be opened to traffic.