NEW DELHI: Three passenger trains from Kolkata to Dhaka, that were discontinued due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will resume services from June 1.
Sources said the three passenger trains — Maitree Express and Bandhan Express and New Jalpaiguri-Dhaka Mitali Express — will be made operational when Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw visits Bangladesh next month.
The services of five-day-per-week Kolkata-Dhaka Maitree Express and bi-weekly Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan Express were disrupted due to Covid-19. “There was a huge demand from passengers from both sides to resume the operation as there is complete normalcy,” said an official.
For these two trains, both Indian Railways and Bangladesh Railways provide one rake each for the service.
However, for New Jalpaiguri-Dhaka Mital Express service, which was virtually inaugurated by both the Prime Ministers in March 2021, the rake was provided by Indian Railways only. It was launched on the occasion of ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s birth centenary and golden jubilee of Bangladesh’s Independence.
The service was expected to start when normalcy is restored.
