Indian minister: Agartala-Akhaura rail link likely to be opened by end of 2023

Gangapuram Kishan Reddy, minister of tourism, culture and development of North Eastern Region of India, on Tuesday inspected the Nischintapur railway yard, which will connect Tripura with Bangladesh's Akhaura, and said the link was likely to be inaugurated by the end of this year.

"We are expecting this project to be inaugurated by the end of this year and in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina," he told the media at Nischintapur.

He said his ministry was funding the railway line from Agartala to Nischintapur and that the Ministry of External Affairs was providing funding for the Bangladesh side.

There will be an integrated checkpoint next to the Nischintapur railway yard that will connect travellers to the Agartala-Akhaura Rail Link station so they can take the train to Kolkata through Dhaka.

On completion of the project, the travel time between Agartala and Kolkata via Dhaka would reduce from 31 hours to 10 hours enabling faster commute of goods & passengers besides boosting trade & commerce. pic.twitter.com/tpZCgO27y8

— G Kishan Reddy (@kishanreddybjp) April 11, 2023

According to officials, the Agartala-Kolkata distance will be reduced by 11 hours with the opening of the Dhaka-Agartala rail link.

"The opening of this new international rail link project will not only ease the journey for the people of Tripura and the northeast but will also help the economy of other northeast states of India,” Reddy said.

Gangapuram Kishan Reddy, minister of tourism, culture and development of North Eastern Region of India visiting construction site Twitter/G Kishan Reddy

The minister said the rail line was strategic in nature as India believed in further enhancing its relations with Bangladesh. 

He also said trade between the two countries would get a boost with the operationalization of the project.

The minister hoped that the Agartala-Akhaura railway project would revolutionize economic, tourism and cultural connections between Bangladesh and India.

The project was vital to India's “Act East” policy, he said.