The introduction of new rail connectivity between Dhaka -Kolkata through the ‘Padma Bridge Rail Link’ depends on the political and goodwill gestures of Bangladesh and India governments as the new route will reduce the travel time by half compared to the present time, sources said.

Project Director of Padma Bridge Rail Link Project Md Afzal Hossain while talking to The Dazzling Dawn said that duration time between Dhaka and Sealdah, a neighbourhood of Central Kolkata, through the ‘Padma Bridge Rail Link’ will be around five hours what now take nine hours through The Jamuna Multi-Purpose Bridge.

 Md Afzal Hossain while talking to this correspondent  said that the travel time on the Dhaka--Kolkata  train service will come down  to 4/5 hours after the completion of the project. However, the current Dhaka--Kolkata  train service through Bangabanhdu bridge takes 10-11 hours ..

Md Rafeuzzaman, former president of TOAB and governing body member of the Bangladesh Tourism Board, said: “Tourism is the third largest industry in the world.

Akbaruddin Ahmad said Indian and Nepalese tourists will be interested to visit Bangladesh through the Padma Bridge. Even the government is planning to connect the southern-western part of the country with the capital through improved road and railway networks in phases. The government is also upgrading the Mongla Port, making it an international port, with a view to easing the pressure on the Chattogram Port.

He also sees outbound tourism potentials in CIS countries by the Bangladeshi tourists.

Chief Planning Officer of Bangladesh Railway SM Salimullah Bahar while talking to this correspondent said that the rail network of the country will mark a milestone after completion of the Padma Rail Link Project.

Meanwhile, Prof Akbaruddin Ahmad, former President of Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB) said recently  “Bangladesh will see a boom in the arrival of the South Asian tourists after completion of the Padma Bridge," “The connectivity with the southern part of the country with the capital will mark a significant improvement that will help boost local and international tourism," he added.

The Padma Bridge is expected to open by next year, setting a milestone in the connectivity of the country.

“The Padma Bridge is expected to unlock the potentials of the region and transform the lives of nearly 30 million people living in the South West. By reducing distances to major urban centres like Dhaka by almost 100km, the Bridge will reduce poverty in the region and accelerate growth and development in the country as a whole,” said a World Bank report.

Under the project, 100 modern passenger coaches have already been purchased. New trains will be introduced by decorating the rakes with them.

In October last year, the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated rail service on the much-desired Dhaka-Bhanga railway connectivity via Padma Bridge, the 82-kilometre railway track from Dhaka to Faridpur’s Bhanga upazila under “Padma Bridge Rail Link Construction Project.”

Nazmun Nahar, a resident of Uttara sector 10, said usually children and women prefer train journey over bus journey and hope that the number of train passengers will rise several times through ‘Padma Bridge Rail Link’. A director of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) while talking to the Dazzling Dawn said the number of Bangladeshi tourists will also rise as the journey time with be reduced to half compared to the present route through the Jamuna Multi-Purpose Bridge..

While talking to this correspondent, a number of Bangladesh diplomats who worked in the Bangladesh missions in Kolkata, New Delhi and Mumbai said the political gesture of the Indian diplomats are important in improving the relations with Bangladesh that suffered in recent times. Border killings, pending Teesta water sharing treaties and intervention of India into internal issues of Bangladesh stand in the way of improving bilateral relations between Dhaka and New Delhi, said a senior diplomat who worked in New Delhi. However, he expects that India will give nod to the introduction of new rail connectivity between Dhaka -Kolkata through the ‘Padma Bridge Rail Link’ after calculating its business interest.

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen last year  said Padma Bridge Rail Link is a landmark project under the Belt and Road Initiative, and also the largest infrastructure project in Bangladesh using Chinese preferential loans.

As one of the most important infrastructure projects in Bangladesh, he said it is estimated to directly benefit 80 million people and boost economic growth by 1.5%.

On 23 August 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping and the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met in South Africa, and injected powerful impetus into China-Bangladesh relations, said Ambassador Yao.

The two leaders spoke highly of the traditional friendship and excellent relations based on mutual respect and support of sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity as well as non-interference in each other's internal affairs, he said.

"China stands ready to keep providing financing support to the mega projects agreed upon by both sides, and is encouraging more Chinese enterprises to invest in Bangladesh, build more industrial zones so as to help Bangladesh realize its "Vision 2041" strategy and "Sonar Bangla" dream," said the Ambassador.

With the completion of the Padma Bridge next year and the massive ongoing vaccination program in the South Asian countries, Bangladesh will see a boom in local and regional tourism in the coming days, according to experts involved in the travel and tourism sector.

Meanwhile, the trial run of a train on Bhanga-Rupdia route was conducted on March 30, 2024, as part of Padma Bridge Rail Link project.

The stone-laden trial train left for Rupdia in Jashore from Bhanga in Faridpur at around 8:40am and reached to Rupdia Station at around 10:20 am without any trouble, officials of Padma Bridge Rail Link project said.

The trial train left for Bhanga from Rupdia on March 31 and it run on the route for some days on an experimental basis, officials added.

A festive mood prevailed among the people over the operation of the train service on Bhanga-Rupdia route.

The trial train run was conducted under the observation of Bangladesh Army and high officials concerned of the Rail project.

According to the railway sources, the Padma Bridge Rail Link project, a 172-km railway link being built to connect the capital to Jashore in the country’s south-western part has been completed.

The new rail link will reduce the distance between Dhaka and Jashore by 193-km.

This railway authority has been constructed to bring the southern and southwestern regions of the country under the railway network through the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project. The project has been implemented by the contracting company 'China Railway Group' (CREC) jointly funded by Bangladesh government and China, sources said.

The political relations between Dhaka and New Delhi at the government levels have reached historic low in recent years after brutal dictator Sheikh Hasina was ousted through a massive student movement on August 5, 2024, diplomatic sources in Dhaka and New Delhi said..

Dhaka and Kolkata train service was halted in 1965 when Pakistan and Indian engaged in war. The train service again resumed after 43 years in 2008. 

However, amid ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) continuous demand, the Indian government has suspended the only train service connecting Kolkata to Bangladesh's capital Dhaka. New Delhi based news agency ANI on July 5, 2024 reported that, authorities took the decision considering 'interest of the people and nation'.

Earlier, BJP's West Bengal State Dilip Ghosh threatened to stop the Dhaka-Kolkata train and hold protest in front of Benapole-Petrapole border gate protesting recent killings of Hindu minority religious leaders by alleged Islamic State militants.

BJP national secretary and former state president Rahul Sinha took part in the protest; Mr. Sinha is one of the main vocal Indian politicians in this cause.

But the State's Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee criticised the ruling party in center for seeking to stop the only train service between Calcutta and Dhaka. She told politicians in Bengal to "think 10 times before making any comment on Bangladesh".

Kolkata based The Telegraph reported, Mamata said, "There is no link between Maitree Express and the terror attacks. The Bengal BJP president is here. I would like to ask him why his party has demanded that the train service be stopped. Terrorists are terrorists. They have no caste, creed or religion."

The chief minister referred to the death threats a senior Ramakrishna Mission monk had received in Dhaka. "After the Mission principal received the threats, we informed Delhi and brought him here. He is an aged man," she said. Sources in Dhaka, however, said the Ramakrishna Mission monk had long planned a trip to India for a treatment in Hyderabad.

The Maitree Express which runs six days a week from both sides, Dhaka and Kolkata is the only train on the route. The train’s service has been temporarily stopped for security reasons. The Maitree Express or Maitree Express or Dhaka-Kolkata Express is an International passenger train serving the railway connecting the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka and the Indian state West Bengal's capital Kolkata.

'Maitree' means the Friendship, denoting the significance of the train service to the foreign relations between India and Bangladesh. The train travels around 375 kilometers to reach Dhaka from Kolkata. It takes around 10–11 hours to cover the entire stretch. There are two stops for immigration checking; one is Gede (Indian side) and the other is Dorshona (Bangladesh side).

Railway Adviser of the High Commission of India in Dhaka Narpat Singh was unavailable to get his comments on the resumption of Dhaka –Kolkata train service.

When contacted, an official of the foreign ministry, said, "India has already permitted the operation of freight trains. Further talks with India are ongoing. India will inform us once they reach a final decision from their high authority. Nothing more can be said at this time."

Nahid Hasan Khan, director of public relations at Bangladesh Railway, said, "The matter will now be decided at the government level, as it is handled by the foreign ministry. They are working on it, and we have not been informed of any developments so far."

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh government has extended the deadline to complete the 'fast-track' Padma Bridge Rail Link Project up to June 30, 2025 as the present tenure of the project  ended on June 30, 2024 with the Bangladesh Railway (BR) giving final touch to the project, sources in Bangladesh Railways said. 

In December last year, Project Director Md Afzal Hossain sent a letter to Bangladesh Railway requesting them to send the time extension proposal to the Planning Commission.

However, the authorities did not seek a cost extension of the Tk 39,247 crore project that had begun back in January 2016.

The total cost of the project was estimated at 39,246.80 crore taka (4977.40 million US dollars) with Bangladesh government’s contribution was taka 18,210.11 crore (2309.46 million US dollars) and China’s contribution was 21, 036.69 crore taka (2667.94 million US dollars).

The Padma Rail Link Project is being executed by China Railway Group Limited (CREC) with the construction supervision consultant of the Bangladesh Army.

Chinese contractor China Railway Engineering Group (CREC) is working on the project. 

Meanwhile, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on May 3, 2016 approved 'Padma Bridge rail link' project involving an estimated cost of Tk 34,988.86 crore in a bid to set up improved rail connectivity between the capital and the southwestern part of the country through the Padma Bridge.

Initially, the Bangladesh Railway under the railways ministry was supposed to implement the 'Padma Bridge rail link' project by June 2022. The project proposal was amended on May 22, 2018, with the cost increasing to Tk 39,247 crore.

The total length of this new track will be 215.22 kilometers, including a three-kilometer double line on Dhaka-Gendaria section.

The railway line is constructed in three phases (plus a 3km link being built between Dhaka and Gandaria): 37km Gandaria-Mawa section, a 42km Mawa-Bhanga section, and an 87km Bhanga Junction-Jashore section. Some 43.2km of loops, siding and Y-connections bring the total track length to 215.2km.

The railway network through the Padma Multipurpose Bridge, having a provision of roadways on the upper deck and railways in the lower deck, will connect Jessore and then Khulna, Benapole, and Mongla through Mawa and Bhanga.

The railway track will go through seven districts of Dhaka Division-Dhaka, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Shariatpur, Madaripur, Faridpur and Gopalganj-and two districts of Khulna Division-Narail and Jessore.

The proposed project will bring four new districts - Munshiganj, Shariatpur, Madaripur and Narail-under railway network alongside improving the standard of passenger services and passengers' facilities.

The new railway track will go through Motijheel, Sabujbagh, Sutrapur, Demra, Keraniganj, Fatullah, Sirajdikhan, Srinagar, Louhajang and Janzira. Then the track will go through Shibchar, Bhanga of Faridpur, Nagarkanda, Saltha, Moksudpur, and Kashiani of Gopalganj, Lohagara, Narail Sadar, Bagpara and Jessore Sadar.

The Padma Bridge Rail Link would reduce the distance between Dhaka and Jessore; Dhaka and Khulna, and Dhaka and Darshana by 184.72 kilometers, 212.05 kilometers and 44.24 kilometers respectively, alongside increasing the travel time.

Meanwhile, the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Bangladesh government has sent a proposal to Exim Bank of China to disburse remaining loans as the loan availability period expired on May 17, 2024. Out of 2667.94 million US dollars, China disbursed some 2440 million US dollars to Bangladesh.

A meeting among Bangladesh Railway, Ministry of Railways, ERD and Exim Bank of China was held on May 16, 2024 regarding expansion of loan availability period. The representative from China Exim Bank agreed in principle that loan availability period will be extended up to 17 November 2004. Bangladesh Railway is waiting for formal confirmation from Exim Bank of China.

Besides, a formal proposal has been sent to Exim Bank of China regarding financial management without changing the loan amount to the contractor to ensure uninterrupted cash flow so that the project can be completed within August 4, 2024. Bangladesh Railway is waiting for consent from the Exim Bank of China regarding financial rearrangement without changing the loan amount.

Against this backdrop, Bangladesh Railway will request the Exim Bank of China to give formal confirmation on extension of loan availability period up to 17 November 2024 and consent for financial rearrangement without increasing the loan amount for successful completion of the fast track project of Bangladesh government.