The Bangladesh Railway (BR) is working to bring Banglabandha Land Port, under the railway network, aiming to boost regional connectivity.

The Banglabandha is a major inland port in Panchagarh -- the northern-most district in the country.

The alignment of the 48-kilometre broad gauge rail line was finalised yesterday, BR officials said. As per primary design, the rail line will have five stations.

The approval came at a meeting at the Rail Bhaban with Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan in the chair.

"We will build the rail line till the Banglabandha Land Port for now. We will talk with our Indian counterpart before taking the final decision regarding where the line will be connected [with the Indian railway] in the border," DN Majumder, additional director general (infrastructure) of the BR, told The Daily Star.

"The aim of constructing the rail line is to boost regional connectivity," he added.

Currently, India, Bhutan and Nepal are connected with Bangladesh via Banglabandha port through roads.

Extension of the railway from Panchagarh to Banglabandha will create a scope for rail communication with India and therefore, with Nepal and Bhutan, the officials said.

In 2018, the BR took up a project titled "Study for Important Projects of West Zone" for carrying our feasibility study and prepare alignments for three rail lines and a rail bridge in the railway's western zone.

"Consultants have submitted three alternative routes for the Panchagarh-Banglabandha section, and one of them were finalised at today's meeting," a BR official said.

Now, the BR will appoint a consultant to prepare a detailed design, tender documents and a Development Project Proposal (DPP), he said, adding that they hope to complete these works within this fiscal year.

"Once approved, it would take two years to implement the project," the official said wishing not be named. Asked about cost of the proposed project, he said, "That can be learned after completion of the detailed design."

Although, the government formally opened the Bangladesh land port in May, 2004, Bangladesh-Nepal transit through Banglabandha was introduced in September, 1997.

Trade between Bangladesh-India through the Banglabandha-Phulbari (in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal) border began in January 2011.

The port is being used for goods transported among Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in November 2015 directed the Railway Ministry to build rail line between Panchagarh and Banglabandha.

She gave the directives after a report was placed before the cabinet saying that operation of heavy trucks and trailers from the port to other parts of the country was causing damage to roads, specially the Mahananda Bridge, according to the project document.

On an average, 5,812 passengers have left Bangladesh for India through this port every month in the 2019-20 fiscal year, even though the Covid-19 pandemic had a negative impact on passengers' movement, according to the Bangladesh Land Port Authority.

The port earned Tk 2.33 crore in last fiscal year, its report shows.

A BR official said the nearest railway stations -- New Jalpaiguri and Rangapani -- in India, is about 6.5 kilometers. 

The railways minister yesterday asked BR officials to talk with their Indian counterpart for settling the necessary issues, he said.

There were eight railway interchanges between Bangladesh and India during the period of an undivided India.

Of the eight, four interchanges -- Benapole-Petropole; Darshana-Gede; Rohanpur-Singabadh and Biral-Radhikarpur -- are now operational.

Another interchange -- Chilahati-Haldibari -- will be revived on December 17, when the prime ministers of both countries, India and Bangladesh, would inaugurate it.

Works for the revival of another interchange -- Shahbajpur-Mahishasan -- are now going on while a new interchange between Akhaura-Agartala is also now under-construction.