Cooch Behar and Kolkata in West Bengal are about 704 km away while travelling by road. The journey takes around 16 hours on average. On the other hand, travellers can complete this journey within 14 hours on trains. There are different train options to travel between Cooch Behar and Kolkata. Cooch Behar’s MP has recently talked about restarting the old railway route services between these two cities. To know about this route’s connectivity and more, read on.
MP Shared His Demands To Resume Old Route Linking Cooch Behar & Kolkata
A few days back, discussions were held between the Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh. PM Modi and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina talked about different problems faced in the railway sector. Multiple routes and connectivity were a part of these discussions but the route from Cooch Behar’s Gitaldah to Kolkata running through Bangladesh was not discussed, according to a report by MillenniumPost.
Amid all these, Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, Cooch Behar MP, raised demands about a well-known railway route connecting Cooch Behar and Kolkata. This is an old railway network linking both these bustling cities in West Bengal and passing via Lalmonirhat and Rangpur in Bangladesh. The Cooch Behar MP asked for restarting this old line and providing services from Cooch Behar to Kolkata.
The talked-about old rail route reached Kolkata by passing Dinhata and Gitaldah. The journey was through Bangladesh’s Mughal Hat, Lalmonirhat, Kaunia, Rangpur, and Parbatipur. According to the MillenniumPost report, another route linked both these cities in West Bengal. Travellers headed from Kolkata to Bangladesh via Darshana. Trains on this route crossed through Kanchrapara and Ranaghat to reach its destination Cooch Behar.
Also read: Indian Railways Rolls Out 315 Special Trains For Puri Rath Yatra Pilgrims
How Will It Benefit Travellers?
If the concerned authorities restart trains on this route, it will help in decreasing the overall duration taken to cover the journey between Kolkata and Cooch Behar. Travel hours will likely be cut down by about six hours. Presently, passengers travel around 668 km to reach Kolkata from Cooch Behar. However, the overall distance was about 500 km earlier.
Also read: Western Railway Installs 14 Automatic Rain Gauges, But How Ready Is It For Monsoon?
What are your thoughts on the plan to restart the old railway line? Let us know!
Cover Image Courtesy: Canva, Wikimedia Commons