Eighteen passenger coaches from India are scheduled to enter Bangladesh through the Darshana border in Chuadanga on Friday, marking the first shipment under an agreement to supply 200 coaches to Bangladesh Railway.
The coaches are expected to reach Darshana International Railway Station at around 1:30pm, according to Mamunur Rashid, the station’s manager.
Manufactured at a railway coach factory in Kapurthala, Punjab, the coaches are currently stationed at Ranaghat railway station in West Bengal.
The first set was dispatched for Bangladesh on Wednesday, according to the information provided.
The consignment comprises three air-conditioned sleeping coaches, three air-conditioned chair cars, 11 general chair cars and two power cars. The coaches, known as Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches, have been designed to meet Bangladesh Railway’s operational requirements.
Mamunur Rashid said the broad-gauge coaches began their journey from Kapurthala on 12 October. They are scheduled to leave Ranaghat around noon on Friday and enter Bangladesh through the Gede checkpoint in India and the Darshana-Jaynagar border crossing after completing the necessary formalities.
After arriving at Darshana, the coaches will undergo customs clearance before being transported to the Saidpur Railway Workshop.
There, they will undergo technical inspections and necessary assessments before preparations begin to incorporate them into passenger trains.
In 2024, India’s RITES Limited began supplying broad-gauge passenger coaches to Bangladesh Railway under an agreement between Bangladesh Railway and Rail India Technical and Economic Services Limited (RITES).
Under the agreement, Bangladesh is to receive a total of 200 LHB broad-gauge coaches from India.
The 18 coaches scheduled to arrive through the Darshana border on Friday constitute the first consignment under the agreement.
