India, Bangladesh To Discuss Restarting Train Services At Key Meeting
Indian and Bangladeshi officials are meeting in Dhaka to discuss the potential resumption of three major cross-border train services. These services, including the Maitree, Bandhan, and Mitali Express, have been suspended since 2024 due to security concerns.
Why it matters
Restoring these rail links is critical for regional connectivity, bilateral trade, and diplomatic relations between India and Bangladesh.
Following the discontinuation of railway services between India and Bangladesh in 2024 due to security concerns, efforts to restart train services from Kolkata to Dhaka and Khulna and New Jalpaiguri to Dhaka are now taking shape, as the issue is coming up for discussion during the two-day meeting of the Inter-Governmental Railway Meeting (IGRM). This meeting is held every year, and the last meeting took place in New Delhi last year. The IGRM between India and Bangladesh is an annual bilateral forum where railway authorities and ministry representatives from both countries meet to discuss and decide on cross-border train operations, rail infrastructure projects, and freight transit.The process of restarting the Maitree, Mitali and Bandhan Express trains operating between India and Bangladesh will be on the agenda at the meeting this time, and this is the first time since 2024 that the issue will be discussed formally at the annual meeting…
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in