1 Trains from (RDP)RADHIKAPUR to (SEE)SONPUR JN

To further strengthen bilateral relationship, 20 Broad Gauge (BG) locomotives were virtually flagged off to Bangladesh in a handing over ceremony held today at Rail Bhavan New Delhi, by Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways. From the Bangladesh end, Minister of Railway, Md. Nurul Islam Sujan also joined in virtually. The event was attended by Shri A.K.Lahoti, Chairman & CEO, Railway Board, Board Members, senior officials of Railway Board and delegates of Bangladesh.

The handing over of these diesel locomotives, under grant assistance from the Government of India, fulfills an important commitment made during the visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina to India, in October, 2019. In keeping with the requirements of Bangladesh Railway, the locomotives have been suitably modified by the Indian side. These locomotives will help handle the increasing volume of passenger and freight train operations in Bangladesh.

Speaking o­n this occasion, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “India’s relationship with Bangladesh is civilizational, cultural, social and economic. Prime Ministers of both the countries are playing proactive role to improve bilateral relationship across social, economic and political sectors. Indian Railways are also playing a vital role in improving and strengthening rail connectivity across the border and improving trade between both the countries. As of now, five BG connectivity are operational, namely Geda- Darsana, Benapol- Petrapol, Singhabad- Rohanpur, Radhikapur- Birol and Haldibari-Chilahati. Work o­n two more cross border rail connectivities, Akhaura-Agartala and Mahihasan-Shahbazpur are progressing well and are likely to be completed and commissioned shortly.”

Addressing the gathering virtually, Minister of Railway, Bangladesh Mr. Md. Nurul Islam Sujan said, “I express my gratitude to the Indian Government for their support. Previously in June 2020 Indian Government provided 10 locomotives to Bangladesh as grant. We express our heartfelt gratitude to India for providing broad gauge locomotives. The supply of locomotives will help to improve both goods and passenger trains. We hope that existing collaboration between two countries regarding Railways sector will increase day by day.”

To enhance people to people contact, presently three pairs of passenger trains between India and Bangladesh, namely, Kolkata-Dhaka Maitree Express, Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan Express and New Jalpaiguri- Dhaka Mitali Express are running.

Trade between both the countries via rail have seen consistent growth with interchange of close to 100 cargo trains per month and approximately 2.66 MT cargo was sent to Bangladesh in the last financial year. The export commodities are Stone, DOC, Foodgrains, China Clay, Gypsum, Maize, o­nion and other essential items, as and when required, from India. Since 2020 permission has been given to operate parcel container and NMG rakes which normally carry agricultural products, fabrics, finished goods, light commercial vehicles and tractors. A new traffic of geo-synthetic bags has just started and 3 Parcel trains have been sent from Gujarat.

In line with Indian commitment to improve Rail service in Bangladesh, 10 BG Diesel locomotives were handed over to Bangladesh o­n grant basis in July 2020. As reported by Bangladesh, these locomotives are performing well and contributing well in smooth movement rail traffic in Bangladesh.

IRCTC & NF Railway will operate its first Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train from Dibrugarh o­n 27^th May, 2023 for popular religious tourist circuit, covering Shree Mata Vaishnodevi, Ayodhya, Prayagraj and Varanasi. Passengers can board and de- board in stations at Dibrugarh, Simaluguri, Mariani, Dimapur, Lumding, Guwahati, Rangiya, New Bongaigaon, New Coochbehar, New Jalpaiguri, Katihar, Barauni Jn, Hajipur and Sonpur. The train comprises of 08 LHB Sleeper Coaches and 03 AC 3-Tier coaches with a pantry car.

Spanning over 10 nights and 11 days, the first stop of this train will be at Katra where tourists will visit Mata Vaishnodevi Temple. This train will further depart for Ayodhya where tourist will visit Ram Janma Bhoomi, Hanumangarhi followed by Aarati at Sarayu River. The next destination to follow is Prayagraj where tourist will visit the sacred place Triveni Sangam and Alopi Devi Temple. The next halt for the tourist train will be at Varanasi where tourist will visit Ganga Aarti and Kashi Vishwanath Temple besides other pilgrimage places.

The tourist will be provided with meals o­nboard and packaged drinking water during the train journey. Meal comprises of early morning tea, breakfast, lunch with evening tea and dinner. Cleanliness of the coaches and hygiene in the toilets will be taken care by dedicated o­n-board housekeeping staffs. Unarmed security guards will also be deployed in every coach to ensure that the passenger belongings are kept safe and no unauthorized passenger board the special tourist train. Every coach will also have dedicated escorts to cater to every need of the passengers.

Dedicated coaches/buses will be provided to the tourists for off-board transfers and sightseeing. The tourists will be escorted by dedicated tour escorts through-out the trip. For Sleeper Class, non- AC Family hotel rooms will be provided at the places of night stay and AC accommodation will be arranged in standard category hotels for AC Passengers.

The entire trip will cost per person approximately Rs. 20,850/- and Rs. 31,135/- inclusive of GST for Sleeper Class and AC 3-Tier respectively. All necessary health precautionary measures will be taken care of and IRCTC will make efforts to provide a safe and memorable experience to the guests.

Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train launch is in line with the Government of India initiative “Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat” and “Dekho Apna Desh” to promote domestic tourism. Indian Railways is providing approximately 33% concession for promotion of rail tourism under Bharat Gaurav Train scheme. In order to make this package more attractive and affordable, bookings made directly through IRCTC website can avail the facility of EMI through Paytm, Razor Pay (credit facility of 3-18 months through debit card & 3-24 months through credit card) & Bajaj Finance (credit facility of 3 months & 5 months o­nly).

For tour booking tourist can visit IRCTC website: https://www.irctctourism.com. For further query tourist can contact helpline no. 8595936696/8638507592 or visit IRCTC office at 4D Mandovi Apartment, GNB Road, Ambari, Opp Rabindra Bhawan, Guwahati-781001.