Maiden broad-gauge train service between Agartala and Delhi flagged-off by Railway Minister

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on 31 July 2016 flagged off maiden broad-gauge train service between Agartala and Delhi, ‘Tripura Sundari Express’.

The ‘Tripura Sundari Express’ will run weekly between Agartala and Anand Vihar in Delhi. It will have commercial stoppages at 16 stations and cover a distance of 2461 kms in 46 hours and 50 minutes.

The train will reach Delhi via Guwahati and New Jappaiguri. The rail link was developed at an expense of 968 crore rupees.

Apart from this, Prabhu along with Bangladesh Railway Minister Md. Mazibul Hoque also laid the foundation stone for Agartala-Akhaura International Rail Project. This train link would be part of the trans-Asian rail connectivity.

The rail track here would be extended to Sabroom, the southern-most town in Tripura, which is only 75 km from the Chittagong port in Bangladesh.

The laying the 15.054 rail track will be completed by 2017. Of the total track, only five km will be on the Indian side and the rest in Bangladesh.

The agreement between the two countries on the rail link was signed during Hasina’s visit to New Delhi in January 2010.

Haque announced that Bangladesh has decided to launch a new train between Khulna and Kolkata in addition to the Maitri Express train that plies between Dhaka and Kolkata.

Effects of the inauguration
The inauguration and other railway initiatives will help in betterment of the connectivity of the regions, which in return will result in all around development in the North East region of India. The connectivity will also bring more employment in the region and help in generating income in the North East.

Besides, the Railway Minister Prabhu said that a train service between Agartala and Kolkata will be started in August 2016. He also assured that more passenger services from Agartala would be introduced in a phased manner.