By Mir Afroz Zaman Dhaka, March 16 : Bangladesh-India passenger train is being launched after being closed for a long time due to the epidemic. If all goes well, the train may start on March 26, said Shahadat Ali Sardar, Additional Director General (Operations) of Bangladesh Railway. Mentioning that India has agreed to this, Shahadat Ali said that an inter-ministerial meeting will be held next Sunday on the issue of making a proposal on behalf of India in this regard. The final decision will be taken at the meeting. If there is no problem, the train may start on March 26, he said. It is learned that Maitri Express on Dhaka-Kolkata route and Bondhan Express on Khulna-Kolkata route have been closed for about 25 months. The Maitri Express started plying in both the countries on April 14, 2008. On the other hand, the journey of Bondhan Express train started on November 9, 2017. Apart from this, a train called Mitali Express was running from Dhaka to New Jalpaiguri. However, no passengers have been transported on the train so far due to Corona. The distance of Khulna-Kolkata railway is 172 kilometers and the fare per passenger on this route including travel tax (500 taka) is AC seat two thousand five rupees and AC chair one thousand 505 taka. The distance between Dhaka and Kolkata is 365 km and the fare per passenger on this route including travel tax (Tk. 500) is Tk. 3,505 for AC seat and Tk. 2,505 for AC chair. Although passenger trains were closed in both the countries, goods were being transported by rail between Bangladesh and India during Corona period. In the fiscal year 2020-21, 36 lakh 94 thousand tons of goods were imported from India by rail. The amount of import in the previous (2019-20) financial year was 16 lakh 34 thousand tons. MAZ GNK
