A new train service between Bangladesh and India was flagged off on Wednesday.
The Mitali Express, the third passenger train service between Bangladesh and India, has been launched after a delay of over one year due to Covid-19 outbreak.
The train service was jointly inaugurated in New Delhi at Rail Bhavan under Indian Railways virtually around 10:00am in the presence of Bangladesh’s railways minister Nurul Islam Sujan and the India’s railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The Mitali Express on the Dhaka–New Jalpaiguri route is set to start its journey from New Jalpaiguri at 11:45am today and reach Dhaka cantonment station at 10:30pm.
On March 26, 2021, prime minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Mitali Express.
But due to the outbreak of the delta variant in India and Bangladesh, the service came to a halt.
Later, on Sunday the cross-border train service between Bangladesh and India resumed after remaining suspended for over two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Sunday, the Maitree Express on the Dhaka–Kolkata route and the Bandhan Express on the Khulna–Kolkata route restarted their international trips.
The Mitali Express will leave India on Sundays and Wednesdays and leave Bangladesh on Mondays and Thursdays.
The number of seats in the train will be 456 during daytime and 408 during night time due to sleeping facilities.
Passengers have to pay $44 (Tk 5,255) for an air-conditioned berth, $33 (Tk 3,420) for an AC seat and $22 (Tk 2,780) for an AC chair seating in the train.
