AGARTALA, April 3 (TIWN): Broad gauge(BG) train service is all set to start its service in state but much expected Indo-Bangla rail link also a reality as DPR (Detailed Project Report) is submitted, alsothe funds for the work will be sanctioned soon. After six years of India-Bangladesh railway project was finalized and the Indian govt. sanctioned Rs.580 crore for the vital rail link connecting NE with remainingIndia via Bangladesh. It is to be mentioned here that the DoNER (Development of North Eastern Region) ministry has agreed to provide Rs.580 crore for the new railway project. The Agartala-Akhaura railway project would provide a major boost to development and economy of the north-eastern region of India and eastern Bangladesh. The project would boost Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Act East' policy. The Indian government has the highest priority to the Agartala-Akhaura railway project that would automatically connect the rail network of both the countries developing the bonding between two countries. Agartala-Akhaura railway project would provide a major boost to development and economy of the northeastern region of India and eastern Bangladesh. Modi discussed the over Rs.1, 000 crore railway project with Hasina during his visit to Dhaka in June last year.

India's external affairs ministry would provide necessary funds for the Bangladesh portion of the Agartala-Akhaura rail project. The DoNER ministry's funds would be spent for the Indian portion of the project.

The NITI Aayog had decided in a meeting in Delhi to put in place the vital railway project between India and Bangladesh by December 2017.
Indian and Bangladesh governments have decided to start a new rail link to ease surface transport. India will build a 15-km railway tracks linking Tripura’s capital Agartala withBangladesh’s southeastern city of Akhaura, an important railway junction connected to Chittagong port, resource-rich Sylhet and Dhaka.

An agreement to implement the railway project was signed between India’s former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina during her visit to India in January 2010.

The Indian Railway Construction Company (IRCON) would lay the new railway tracks on both sides of the border. Of the 15 km rail line, five km of tracks fall in the Indian Territory.

India has been keen to establish the Agartala-Akhaura rail link as it would facilitate easier connectivity between West Bengal and northeastern states through Bangladesh.