// Shamsul Basunia//
India is pushing for better land connectivity with neighboring Nepal and
Bangladesh for effective sub-regional cooperation.Indian government ahead of
prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s proposed visit to India either March-end or
early-April has asked the state-owned Container Corporation to explore ways to
run a cargo train to Bangladesh with an aim to enhance bilateral trade.Bangladesh has emerged as one of India’s closest neighbors after Bhutan
and Container Corporation is further exploring ways to run a cargo train to
Bangladesh. There are currently three rail links to Bangladesh -- all through
West Bengal -- and all of them remain under utilized.Of the three, the Gede,India-Darshana,Bangladesh link, which opened in
2008 offers broad-gauge connectivity to the key consumption centre in Dhaka; it
is used to run a passenger train four times a week. The
Singhabad,India-Rohanpur,Bangladesh rail link connects northern Bangladesh but
not the South. A passenger train -- Maitree Express -- connects Kolkata with
Dhaka.A BIMSTEC Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and
Economic Cooperation trade logistics study of 2010 pointed out that rail
movement can be 30% cheaper than even sea freight which is normally considered
the cheapest between the two nations.Railways have had little relevance so far to Indo-Bangladesh trade, which
moves mainly on non-containerized trucks.But this situation can be altered and the near-term solution may lie in
shifting the cargo from road to rail, as was visualized by the Atal Bihari
Vajpayee government while connecting Petra pole land port by rail in 2001,
according to persons familiar with the developments.Bangladesh is looking to create a dry port or an inter-modal transshipment
facility in Bangladesh.India has expressed interest to link Kathmandu with Delhi and Kolkata,
using direct railway lines in a bid to strengthen cross-border connectivity and
facilitate people movement between the two countries.
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