History recreates after four decades; Dhaka-Kolkata train link resumes

It was perhaps the best way to kick start a fresh new year for Bengalis on either banks of Padma. The Kolkata-Dhaka Moitree Express was on Monday flagged off on Bengali New Year's Day by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, resuming passenger train services between the two neighbouring countries after 43 years.

The six-coach train will be a bi-weekly service between Kolkata and Dhaka Cantonment. It will leave Kolkata on Saturdays and Sundays at 7.10 am reaching Dhaka at 10.30 pm. From Dhaka, it will leave at 8.30 am and will reach Kolkata at 9 pm. The train, epitomising friendship between the fragmented Bengal, chugged off Kolkata terminal at 7.18 a.m.
 
The Indian rake has a capacity of 368 passengers and the Bangladeshi one will have 418 passengers. Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi and Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Liquat Ali Chowdhury were present at the Kolkata railway terminal in north Kolkata at the flag-off ceremony along with a host of dignitaries.

Before partition, there was a regular over-night service from Kolkata to Goalanda and further upto Dhaka via Narayangunj. At the time of partition, there were three train services from Sealdah to various destinations of the then East Pakistan. These trains - East Bengal Mail, East Bengal Express, Barishal Express - were operational till 1965.

After 1965, there was no passenger rail service between India and the then East Pakistan which later became Bangladesh. The common history, culture and language generated a demand from the people of both West Bengal and Bangladesh for a regular rail link. Following initiatives taken by the governments of India and Bangladesh, freight services started in 1972 but the service had to be discontinued. In 2000, goods services were restored with the commissioning of Petrapol-Benapol rail link. The service was suspended in 1965 following that year's war between India and Pakistan, of which Bangladesh was the eastern province. Bangladesh gained independence in 1971 but the two countries only agreed to resume the train link in 2001.

With one-way tickets starting from $8 (£4), it is expected to be popular with Bangladeshis visiting family, looking for work, shopping or seeking medical treatment in their wealthier neighbour. One man in Calcutta, however, is hoping to return to Dhaka after leaving the city on what turned out to be the last train out in 1965, when he was nine years old. "The direct bus to Dhaka is expensive, air travel is beyond my reach, but the train should be fine," Rakhal Das, now 54, said.

Bilateral relations were dogged by suspicion and rivalry for many years even though India helped Bangladesh win its independence from Pakistan, says our correspondent. "The agreement will strengthen bilateral relations and provide an alternative mode of passenger transport," an Indian government statement said. Disagreements over security arrangements delayed the implementation of the rail link after the two countries signed an agreement in 2001.

Another train also left Dhaka for Kolkata on Monday at almost at the same time, officials said. "I heard a lot about the train service from my parents. Now it is going to be resumed, so I never wanted to miss this opportunity. I am happy to be part of this historic moment," said passenger Chowdhury Mainul Hasan.

Senior officials and diplomats attended festivities at the decorated station to mark the maiden journey of the train service, which coincided with the Bengali New Year. Bangladesh, which became independent from Pakistan in 1971, was part of East Bengal before Indian partition in 1947 and its people share a common history, culture and language with those in the Indian state of West Bengal.

"It is a historic occasion and the beginning of a new era. It will strengthen the bonds between the two countries," said Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, adviser for foreign affairs of Bangladesh's army-backed interim government.

Thousands of people on both sides of the India-Bangladesh border have relatives on the other side, and many Bangladeshis also travel to Kolkata, capital of India's West Bengal, and other Indian cities to seek medical treatment, officials said. "Now the visit to India by students, patients, businessmen and tourists will be cheaper and easier," an official said. Before the rail service, most people travelled by bus between the two countries.

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