Indian Railways have decided to cancel Maitree Express, the only train service between India and Bangladesh for 2 days in the mid-October.
The Coaches of Maitree Express
An official release from Ministry of Railways says that there has been some temporary suspension in the movement of bi-weekly regular Maitree Express train service between Kolkata (India) to Dhaka (Bangladesh) on account of Eid-Ul-Azha.
On the request from Bangladesh Railway, the Indian Railways has decided to cancel the trip of ‘Maitree’ Express train on 15th October 2013 (Tuesday) from Kolkata and on 16th October 2013 (Wednesday) from Dhaka to avoid operational complications arising due to non running of trains in Bangladesh on Eid days. Normal services of the train will resume thereafter.
Maitree Express normally runs from Kolkata on every Tuesday and Saturday while in the return direction it departs from Dhaka every Wednesday and Sunday. Â It is also known as Moitri Express and Kolkata-Dhaka Express. It runs with Train numbers 13107, 13108, 13109, and 13110.
The name Maitree Express literally means the Friendship Express, denoting the significance of the train service to the foreign relations between India and Bangladesh. The train was planned in 2001, but it was only in April 2008 that the service actually started.
The train travels around 375 kilometers to reach Dhaka from Kolkata. There are two stoppages for immigration checking,one is Gede (Indian side) and another is Darshana (Bangladesh side). It takes around 10–11 hours to cover the entire stretch. Since the Bangladesh side is non-electrified, the entire stretch is covered by broad gauge diesel locomotives. There is a change of crew and locos at Darshana in Bangladesh
Tentative Ticket Prices:2nd Class Sitting INR300, AC Chair Car INR 580 1st AC Sleeper INR 850. On the Dhaka to Kolkata leg an additional travel tax of Taka 300 is applicable.