Desher Samay; Kolkata;Trial run of the first container train between India and Bangladesh on Tuesday in presence of Harindra Rao, General Manager, Eastern Railway, Shri Kalyan Rama, CMD, Concor(Container Corporation of India Ltd.Manasi Banerjee, one of the senior-most employees of Container Corporation of India Ltd (CONCOR) flagged off the trial run of the first container train between India and Bangladesh on Tuesday.Speaking to the media Harindra Rao, General Manager, Eastern Railway said: “This is for the first time that a container train from India will run between India and Bangladesh.” The first container train to Bangladesh consisting of 30 wagons, will carry 60 containers of soyabean extract and will run via Majerhat-Naihati-Ranaghat-Gede in India and Darsana-Ishurdi-Bangabandhu West in Bangladesh. Bangabandhu West in Bangladesh is 117 kms from Dhaka but much closer to industrial hubs around Dhaka.While passenger and goods trains run between the two countries, it is for the first time that container trains will be going to Bangladesh from India. The train is carrying close to 1,200 tonnes of de-oiled cake which serves as a raw material for animal feed.The train, which was flagged off from the Concor terminus near Majherhat station, will travel through Naihati, Ranaghat and Gede in India and Darsana and Ishurdi in Bangladesh before reaching Bangabandhu West station, 117 km from Dhaka. It will take about 24 hours for the train to reach Bangladesh.The bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh is currently largely road-based through the congested Petrapole-Benapole border. On an average, it takes anywhere close to a month for a truck to reach Bangladesh as it takes nearly 25 days for Customs clearance at the border.Currently, the bilateral trade between the two countries is largely based on roadways, through the congested Petrapole-Benapole border. According to some exporters, for a truck to reach Bangladesh, it takes around one month duration as it takes around 25 days for customs clearance at the border. “If successful, the container service would have an impact on bilateral trade because it will drastically reduce the transportation time,” said Syed Abdul Rahman, the senior general manager (east) of Container Corporation of India Ltd (Concor), a PSU under the railway ministry. The logistics major will handle the container train movement between the two countries. picture by Desher Samay.
