STAR REPORT

Train services between Bangladesh and India resumed yesterday after remaining suspended for over two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Maitree Express, which plies the Dhaka-Kolkata route, left the Dhaka Cantonment Station at 8:15am with around 170 passengers, Shafiqur Rahman, divisional railway manager (Dhaka) of Bangladesh Railway, told The Daily Star.

As the train resumed operations after a long while, BR Director General Dhirendra Nath Mazumder welcomed the passengers with flowers, he added.

Meanwhile, the Bandhan Express, which operates on Khulna-Kolkata route, reached Benapole railway station from Kolkata around 9:45am with 19 passengers.

Earlier, the Khulna-bound Bandhan Express started its journey from Kolkata station at Chitpur at 7:10am (Indian time).

While the Bandhan Express runs two days a week, the Maitree Express operates five days.

Eklavya Chakraborty, ER PRO, said people on both sides of the border are excited about the resumption of the train services. The trains are fully booked for the next few days, reports our Delhi correspondent.

Mitali Express, the third passenger train to be operated between the two countries, will start operations from June 1.

The train would travel between Dhaka and West Bengal’s New Jalpaiguri four days a week.

Railways Minister Nurul Islam Sujan, who is visiting India now, and Indian Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will jointly inaugurate the new train from the Rail Bhavan in New Delhi virtually, sources said.