India submits revised proposal for trial run

India has proposed afresh to conduct a trial run of a freight train up to Bhutan border via Bangladesh.

The country has sent a revised draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard through its mission in Dhaka to the authorities concerned in Bangladesh for necessary concurrence at the earliest, official sources said.

When contacted, an official said a proposal, including the draft MoU, had been received and the agencies concerned were working on it.

The trial-run, a proposed deliverable for the upcoming VVIP visit, is also expected to determine the operational feasibility of railway transit through India for Bangladeshi goods to Bhutan.

According to the MoU, the trial run will involve movement of an empty Indian Railway freight train on the track, wherein it will enter Bangladeshi territory via Darsana and exit via Chilahati and proceed up to Dalgaon in India near the Bhutan border.

"The purpose of this MoU is to provide a framework of co-operation and to facilitate trial run for movement/transit of Indian Railways (IR) trains on Bangladesh Railway on Gede (India) Darsana (Bangladesh)- Ishurdi-Abdulpur-Parbatipur-Chilahati (Bangladesh) Haldibari (India) route up to Hasimara via Dalgaon, where infrastructure is fully ready in all respects," reads the revised MoU.

The trial run is expected to pave the way for movement of cargo trains to Bhutan via Darsana-Chilahati upto Hasimara and will return empty from Dalgaon via Chilahati-Darsana.

An empty rake of BCN wagons can enter Bangladesh at Chilahati and the same empty rake can come out to the Indian side at Gede and vice-versa.

In the next phase of trial, a loaded rake can enter Darsana from Gede and the same rake may come out on the Indian side at Haldibari and vice-versa.

In the trial run, the train will be worked by the locomotives, crew members, train manager (guard) of Indian Railways up to Darsana/Chilahati in Bangladesh.

The locomotives with crew (guard and driver) will then return back to India with or without empties (IR). In the BR network, BR crew will run an IR freight train.

This trial run of trains can be planned during day-time only on a mutually convenient date. Necessary steps will be taken by both railway administrations in consultation with other agencies like security and customs in their respective countries.

The trailing load of trains for this trial will be full rakes of BCN/BOXN.

Both parties shall, on a regular basis, keep each other informed of all the developments related to cooperation in conducting trial run of transit/movement of IR trains over BR network.

Currently, Bangladesh conducts trade with Bhutan through India.

There are now nine interchange railway points between Bangladesh and India - five are now operational. These are Darshana (Bangladesh) - Gede (India), Benapole (Bangladesh) -Petrapole (India), Rohanpur (Bangladesh) - Singhabad (India), Birol (Bangladesh) - Radhikapur (India), and Chilahati (Bangladesh) - Haldibari (India).

Officials said the proposal would be better for Bangladesh in reducing distance, increasing trade as well reducing travel time.

It would further boost facilities to transport necessary items to and from India and Bhutan, they added.

[email protected]