Indian Railways hands over 20 broad gauge locomotives to Bangladesh

Twenty Broad Gauge (BG) locomotives were virtually flagged off to Bangladesh during a ceremony at Rail Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday (May 24, 2023), marking another important milestone in India-Bangladesh bilateral ties.

These diesel locomotives, provided as grant assistance from the Government of India, fulfill an important commitment made during the visit of the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India in October 2019.

The Indian manufacturer has made suitable modifications to the locomotives to meet the requirements of Bangladesh Railway. According to the Ministry of Railways, the addition of these locomotives will significantly enhance the capacity to handle the growing volume of passenger and freight train operations in Bangladesh.

The ceremony was overseen by Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, with Minister of Railways of Bangladesh Md Nurul Islam Sujan participating remotely. The ceremony was also attended by high-ranking officials from both countries, including Chairman & CEO of the Railway Board AK Lahoti and delegates from Bangladesh.

Speaking at the event, Vaishnaw highlighted the long-standing cultural, social, and economic ties between Bangladesh and India. He emphasized the aggressive responsibilities taken by the prime ministers of both nations in fostering stronger bilateral cooperation in a number of different areas.

He also stressed that five India- Bangladesh rail connectivities are currently operational: Geda- Darsana, Benapol- Petrapol, Singhabad- Rohanpur, Radhikapur- Birol and Haldibari-Chilahati. "Work on two more cross border rail connectivities, Akhaura-Agartala and Mahihasan-Shahbazpur are progressing well and are likely to be completed and commissioned shortly," he added.

On the other hand, Md. Nurul Islam Sujan, Bangladesh's Minister of Railways, thanked the Indian government in his virtual speech for their assistance. He thanked India for providing the additional wide gauge locomotives and referred to the earlier allocation of 10 locomotives given by India in June 2020. He stressed the advantages these locomotives would bring to both freight and passenger trains and expressed the hope that the two nations' railway industries would continue to work together and prosper.

To enhance people-to-people contact, three pairs of passenger trains between India and Bangladesh, namely, Kolkata-Dhaka Maitree Express, Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan Express and New Jalpaiguri- Dhaka Mitali Express are running at present.

At the same time, rail trade between India and Bangladesh has witnessed consistent growth, with the interchange of nearly 100 cargo trains per month. In the most recent fiscal year, 2.66 million metric tons of cargo—including supplies of stone, DOC, foodgrains, china clay, gypsum, maize, onions, and other necessities—were sent from India to Bangladesh, the Ministry of Railways said.

Since 2020, permission has also been allowed to use parcel containers and NMG rakes, making it easier to move completed goods, tractors, finished goods, textiles, and the recently adopted geo-synthetic bags.

In July 2020, 10 BG Diesel locomotives were given under grant assistance to Bangladesh as part of India's commitment to enhancing rail operations in that country. According to Bangladeshi authorities, these locomotives are operating efficiently, making a significant contribution to the smooth operation of rail traffic in Bangladesh.