Residents of South Dinajpur, a district that shares borders with Bangladesh, got the first direct train to Calcutta on the first day of the New Year.
On Monday, Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, virtually flagged off the Balurghat-Sealdah Express from Delhi, much to the elation of residents. Sukanta Majumdar, the local MP, was present at the Balurghat railway station with some other elected representatives and senior officials of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).
From Tuesday, the train will run with LHB coaches, on all seven days a week. On its way, it will stop in 13 stations, NFR sources said.
Vaishnaw on Monday said that under the Amrit Bharat station development scheme, 98 stations of Bengal, including 26 of north Bengal, would be developed into world class stations.
“Balurghat station has also been included under the scheme. A sum of Rs 633 crore will be invested for the new railway line project between Balurghat and Hili stations. The work to upgrade passenger amenities like additional foot overbridges, lifts and escalators is also in progress in different stations across the state,” said the railway minister.
Hili is located on the India-Bangladesh border. On the Bangladesh side, there is a rail route that connects Hili, a station in the neighbouring country in Dinajpur district.
“The Narendra Modi government has met the aspirations of local people. Infrastructural development is in progress at Balurghat station and we believe more trains would be introduced in due course,” Majumdar, the local MP, said.
The decision to introduce a direct train to Calcutta from the district, a longstanding demand of people in South Dinajpur, is being seen by many observers as an attempt by the saffron camp to retain its support for the Lok Sabha polls.
