Date for launching Maitree Express to be announced soon: Dinesh Trivedi

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi has said that discussions are ongoing between the two countries on the resumption of the Maitree Express train on the Dhaka-Kolkata route and it will be possible to announce a specific date for launching the train soon.

He said this while talking to journalists after a courtesy meeting with Road Transport and Bridges, Railways and Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam at the Secretariat on Tuesday (September 8).

Dinesh Trivedi said air travel is now a separate matter. However, ordinary people travel by road and rail. He said, “I was the railway minister. Railway minister means ordinary people.”

He said even if rail connectivity remained closed for some reason, the movement of goods trains between the two countries did not stop. Rather, he has heard that the movement of goods trains has almost doubled. Mentioning this as positive, he said it means trade is continuing between the two countries.

Highlighting this progress in goods train movement as positive, the High Commissioner said it is necessary to think about how commercial connectivity can be further increased by road, rail and waterways.

Regarding the launching of Maitree Express, Dinesh Trivedi said, “It seems we will be able to give good news about Maitree Express very soon.” He informed that meetings are ongoing between the two countries on launching the train and efforts are being made to take a decision on this matter as soon as possible.

He also said a specific date for launching the train may be announced at any time. According to him, “We will be able to give a fixed date very soon.”

Informing that discussions were also held on further facilitating the communication system between the two countries, Dinesh Trivedi said the minister mentioned that it currently takes six to seven hours to travel on one route and discussed how it can be reduced by three hours. Technical aspects of using the Padma Bridge in this regard were also discussed.