India sanctioned Rs 1,000 crore for Agartala-Akhaura rail link

Indian government has sanctioned Rs 1,000 crore to connect Agartala with Akhaura railway junction, confirmed Agartala state transport Secretary Samarjit Bhowmik on Monday.

The proposed railway track will be 15.06km in length of which 15km will fall in Bangladesh territory and the rest in India.

"We were informed by the Centre on Saturday that it has sanctioned Rs 580 crore for acquiring land and laying of five km long tracks on the Indian side said Bhowmik.

According to Bhowmik the project would be completed by 2017 which includes an elevated corridor which will cover 3.7km length of the route.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed during his visit to Bangladesh in last June India would fund the project.

On completion of the project the distance from Agartala to Kolkata will reportedly reduced from 1,650km to 515km avoiding the hilly terrain.