'Akhaura-Agartala railway project to be complete by Dec 2022'

Agartala Railways Minister Raosaheb Patil Danve on Friday said the work for the Agartala-Akhaura international rail connectivity would be complete within December this year.

The project, which was scheduled to be completed by December 2020, was delayed due to land acquisition issues and the Covid-19 pandemic, reports The Indian Express citing the minister.

"I have visited Akhaura. Works for the station and the lines are almost complete. We have set December 2022 as a target date for the completion," the Danve said.

Speaking to the media at the State Guest House, Danve said that he has been meeting railway officials and visiting crucial railway projects of the state, including two international projects with Bangladesh at Sabroom and Akhaura.

The Union minister also said he has asked the concerned officials to complete works on the schedule for the second Indo-Bangla international railway project at Sabroom in South Tripura and added his government has plans to build a multi-modal transit hub at Sabroom of India.

The Agartala-Akhaura railway link is a 15-km-long stretch and would connect Akhaura in Bangladesh with an international immigration station at Nischintapur along the Indo-Bangla international border.

The ambitious connectivity project is expected to reduce the time spent on travelling from Agartala to Kolkata via Dhaka to 10hours from 31 hours by train since the route would effectively reduce the distance from the existing 1,600 km to 550 km.

A few days back on 8 April, Bangladesh Railway Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujon took stock of the project's progress on the Bangladesh side and expressed anguish at the slow-paced work. He asked the construction agencies to finish the remaining works within December this year, failing which serious consequences would follow.

On the second Indo-Bangla international railway connectivity project at Sabroom in South Tripura, the Union minister said, "I visited Sabroom near the Bangladesh border. If the multi-modal transport hub is completed, people can travel from Kolkata in 16 hours instead of 38 hours. If the hub is built, it will be a huge advantage."

The multi-modal transport hub would include infrastructure for goods transport and would be set up in discussion with the land port authorities. 

The minister, however, said he reviewed the progress of the work done so far in the Sabroom project and has asked the officials to make sure the work is complete on time. "Work on the Bangladesh side is still pending and discussions are on with them," he added.