Maitree Express

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The Maitree Express (Bengali: মৈত্রী এক্সপ্রেস Moitri Ekspres) or Kolkata-Dhaka Express is a passenger train serving the railway connecting the Indian city of Kolkata and the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. It is the only railway link between the cities of the two nations and has been revived after being closed for 43 years.[1] The name Maitree Express means the Friendship Express, denoting the significance of the train service to the foreign relations between India and Bangladesh.[2] The inauguration of the train service was held on the occasion of the Bengali New Year (পহেলা বৈশাখ Pôhela Boishakh) April 14, 2008.

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[edit] Background

The partition of India in 1947 disrupted train links in the province of Bengal, which was partitioned into the Indian state of West Bengal and East Bengal, which became a province of Pakistan. Prior to partition, regular over-night trains connected Kolkata, Goalanda, Dhaka and Narayanganj. Three train services—East Bengal Mail, East Bengal Express and the Barisal Express—operated between the two countries until 1965, when the outbreak of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 led to the closure of the train links.[1] The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 resulted in the independence of East Bengal as the nation-state of Bangladesh. But despite the role of India in aiding the Bangladeshi freedom struggle, the railway link was not re-opened until 2008.[1]

[edit] Revival

In 2001, the two national governments agreed upon the railway train scheme during bilateral talks. The train service concept got a major boost during the visit of the Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Dhaka in February, 2007. On July 8, 2007 the first train ran from Kolkata to Dhaka in a test run, carrying Indian government officials who were to meet their Bangladeshi counterparts to finalise train schedules.[3] In response to Indian security demands, a "box-fencing" system will be erected on either side on the no-man's land between the two countries.[4]

[edit] 2008 inauguration

On April 14, 2008, on the occasion of the Bengali New Year, the train was re-launched with fanfare; the flag-off ceremony for the first train leaving Kolkata from the Chitpur railway station was attended by dignitaries such as the Indian Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, the Governor of West Bengal Gopalkrishna Gandhi and Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Liquat Ali Chowdhury. The Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee officially flagged-off the inaugural train from Kolkata, bound for Dhaka.[4][1] Another train departed at the same time carrying passengers from Dhaka to Kolkata. But the 360-seater Calcutta-Dhaka Friendship Express on its inaugural run was carrying barely 65 passengers, including journalists and politicians. Indian railway officials state that the train service was launched hurriedly, and that when information would spread there would be a greater response and passenger numbers.[2] An official statement from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said, "The agreement will strengthen bilateral relations and provide an alternative mode of passenger transport."[4]

[edit] Protests and bombing plot

The inauguration of the train service has evoked mixed public responses.[2] Thousands of people gathered along the train route from Kolkata up to the border crossing point in Gede to cheer the inaugural train. However, a group representing Hindu refugees from Bangladesh, the Nikhil Banga Nagarik Sangha (All Bengal Citizens Committee) protested the launching of the train service, citing persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh, possible terrorist infiltration into India and demanding the rehabilitation of Bangladeshi Hindu refugees.[5][6] Police reports stated that 87 people (including 11 women) had been arrested for blocking the train by squatting on the tracks and refusing to move.[2][5][6] Police blamed the group for planting three bombs, which were defused, on the route on April 13, a day before the launch.[2][6]

[edit] Train service

The Maitree Express is a six-coach train that will provide bi-weekly journeys, every Saturday and Sunday, between Kolkata and Dhaka, running approximately 500 km (311 mi), which it will cover in 12 hours, including the time for border-crossing.[1][2][4] The Indian rake has a capacity of 368 passengers and the Bangladeshi rake has a capacity of 418 passengers. One-way tickets cost approximately eight U.S. dollars (320 Indian rupees).[2]

[edit] Diplomacy

The development of the Kolkata-Dhaka train service is akin to that of the Samjhauta Express (also meaning "Friendship" or "Accord" Express), which connects the Indian capital Delhi to Lahore in Pakistan. Both train services were opened to revive rail links between the countries that were disrupted by the partition of India in 1947, and both have been used as symbols of goodwill and cooperation between India and Bangladesh, and India and Pakistan.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Kolkata-Dhaka Moitree Express flagged off", The Times of India, Times Internet Limited, 14 April 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-17. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Dhaka-Calcutta train link resumes", BBC News, BBC, 14 April 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-17. 
  3. ^ Sudworth, John. "First India-Bangladesh train link", BBC News, BBC, 8 July 2007. Retrieved on 2008-04-17. 
  4. ^ a b c d "Kolkata-Dhaka train service to resume on Bengali New Year", The Times of India, Times Internet Limited, 12 April 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-17. 
  5. ^ a b Bhaumik, Subir. "Excitement mounts over train link", BBC News, BBC, 9 April 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-17. 
  6. ^ a b c "Moitree Express resumes journey after brief halt", The Times of India, Times Internet Limited, 14 April 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.