India-Bangladesh Passenger Train Services Resume After Two Years

The services were stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Passenger train services between India and Bangladesh resumed on Sunday, 29 May, after a gap of more than two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The passenger services began with two trains – Maitri Express and Bandhan Express – running between Kolkata and Dhaka, and Kolkata and Khulna, respectively.

The director general (DG) of Bangladesh Railway flagged off the Maitri Express from Dhaka to Kolkata on Sunday morning.

Step forward in 🇮🇳🇧🇩 rail connectivity!

In suspension for nearly 2 years due to COVID-19, cross-border Maitri Express train service b/w Dhaka🇧🇩 & Kolkata🇮🇳 resumed today, with the train being flagged off from Dhaka Cantonment station.@RailMinIndia pic.twitter.com/Qw9oY3Owas

— India in Bangladesh (@ihcdhaka) May 29, 2022

Only 19 passengers took the Bandhan express while there were 100 passengers on the Maitri express on the first day of its service, Times Now reported quoting HN Gangopadhyay, Public Relations Officer (PRO) and Assistant Commercial Manager, Eastern Railway Sealdah.

Another service between New Jalpaiguri (NJP) and Dhaka, called Mitali Express, will be started on 1 June and will be flagged off by the railway ministers of both countries.