AMN
The construction work of the rail line connecting Agartala with Akhaura in Bangladesh will be completed by September, said Tripura Food, Transport and Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury in Agartala on Friday. He said that the physical work on the 12.5 kilometres long rail line in the Indian side is 85 per cent completed while 73 per cent of physical work on the rail line in the Bangladesh side.
Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) G Kishan Reddy visited Tripura on the 11th of April to inspect the Agartala-Akhaura New Rail Link Project. He held meetings with the officials of IRCON to review the progress of the work of the rail link. The Tourism Minister said that the consultancy project to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the development of Agartala as an international railway station has already been awarded. It is expected that the foundation stone for the construction work will be laid down in the next two to three months.
The travel time between Agartala and Kolkata will be reduced from 31 hours to 10 hours after the opening of the Agartala-Akhaura rail link, DONER Minister G Kishan Reddy said during his site visit.
To facilitate journeys from Agartala to Kolkata via Dhaka, an integrated checkpoint next to the Nischintapur railway yard is being constructed. The Ministry of Development of North East Region is funding the railway line from Agartala to Nischintapur; whereas the Ministry of External Affairs is funding the rail line from Nischintapur to Gangasagar which is in Bangladesh.