Nurul Islam Sujan, Railway Minister of Bangladesh, along with Sardar Shahadat Ali, Additional Director General (Operations), Bangladesh Railways visited Integral Coach Factory (ICF), manufacturer of rail coaches located in Perambur, in Tamil Nadu's Chennai.
They also visited the production facilities at Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) Shed of ICF. Sujan also inspected special coaches made by ICF such as LHB Vistadome coaches, LHB AC 2 tier and 3 tier coaches, and Air Conditioned Self Propelled Inspection Cars (SPIC) therein. It is pertinent to note that ICF had, in the past, exported various types of coaches such as MG First Class, MG Dining Car, MG Second Class, MG Power Car, MG Postal and Parcel van to value about Rs 100 crore.
During discussions with AK Agarwal, GM, ICF and other officials, Nurul Islam Sujan said that since Bangladesh has now taken up the project of converting its Meter Gauge tracks to Broad Gauge, the LHB Coaches from ICF would be of great help in modernizing Bangladesh railways. He expressed the hope that Bangladesh Railways will explore the possibility of importing train sets for mass commutation such as DEMU similar to the ones that were exported to Sri Lanka and Nepal by ICF recently. He added that a team of officials from Bangladesh Railways would soon visit ICF to further the process of export of coaches from ICF to Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Railway Minister said that the cooperation between Indian Railways and Bangladesh Railways has a long history and ICF has played a vital role in the development of railways in Bangladesh.
He also recalled the sacrifices of the Indian soldiers in getting freedom for Bangladesh.
He said that he was impressed with the Vande Bharat Coaches and other coaches made by the ICF.
Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Sujan on Wednesday flagged off ‘Mitali Express’ between New Jalpaiguri (India) and Dhaka (Bangladesh) via video conferencing.
This is the third passenger train between the two nations that was flagged off from Rail Bhawan in New Delhi. The train service will also promote people to people movement between the two countries. A large number of Bangladeshi tourists also visit West Bengal. Darjeeling is one of the most favourite destinations.
