Dhaka, Oct 16 (IANS) Bangladesh is set to receive the first consignment of 18 modern broad-gauge railway coaches from India on Friday, with the coaches scheduled to enter the country through Darshana International Railway Station in Chuadanga district, according to local media reports.

Supplied under an agreement between Bangladesh Railway and India’s Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES), the coaches are expected to arrive on Friday afternoon, before proceeding to the Saidpur Railway Workshop after customs procedures are completed.

Mamunur Rashid, station manager of Darshana International Railway Station, said the coaches were manufactured in Kapurthala city of India’s Punjab and set off for Bangladesh on October 12, Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune reported.

The 18-coach consignment consists of three air-conditioned sleeper coaches, three air-conditioned chair cars, 11 non-air-conditioned chair cars and one power car.

According to Mamunur Rashid, the coaches will undergo mandatory inspections and technical assessments at the Saidpur Railway Workshop, following which preparations will be made to integrate them into passenger train services.

Announcing the dispatch in a post on social media platform X earlier this week, RITES said, “Made in India. Moving the World. The 1st rake of 18 passenger coaches for Bangladesh Railway has been dispatched from RCF Kapurthala, marking another feat in RITES’ export journey. From manufacturing excellence to cross-border connectivity, we're Shaping What Shapes Lives.”

Earlier in August, India resumed supplying passenger coaches to Bangladesh after nearly a decade, with the first batch of 19 new-generation broad-gauge passenger coaches transported through the Darshana border, local media reported.

Manufactured at the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in Kapurthala, the coaches marked the first delivery under Bangladesh Railway’s procurement of 200 modern passenger coaches.

The new coaches were to enhance the efficiency and reliability of rail services in the southwestern region, especially those operating through the Padma Rail Bridge, according to a report in Bangladesh’s newspaper 'Daily Sun'.

The 19 coaches were the first shipment under a procurement initiative launched in 2022 to acquire 200 broad-gauge passenger coaches. The project has an estimated cost of Bangladeshi taka Tk 1,704.66 crore, of which around Tk1,331 crore is expected to be financed through a European Investment Bank (EIB) loan.

--IANS

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