The Akhaura–Laksam–Chittagong line is a railway line connecting

Akhaura Akhaura () is an upazila of Brahmanbaria District, a district under Chattogram, Bangladesh. Akhaura Upazila has an area of 99.28 km2. The main river that run through this upazila is the Titas River. Akhaura played an important historical r ...

and

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

, via

Laksam Laksam is a city in eastern Bangladesh. It is the headquarters of Laksam Upazila of Comilla District. It is situated on the banks of the Dakatia River. Demographics According to the 2022 Bangladesh census, Laksam city had a population of 9 ...

in Bangladesh. There are branch lines from Laksam to Chandpur and

Noakhali Noakhali District (), historically known as Bhulua (), is a Districts of Bangladesh, district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in Chattogram Division. It was established as a district in 1821, and officially named Noakhali in 1868. The distr ...

. This line is under the jurisdiction of

Bangladesh Railway Bangladesh Railway () is the state-owned rail transport agency of Bangladesh. It operates and maintains all railways in the country, and is overseen by the Directorate General of Bangladesh Railway. The Bangladesh Railway is governed by the Mi ...

History

In response to the demand of the Assam tea planters for a railway link to

Chittagong port Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

Assam Bengal Railway The Assam Bengal Railway (ABR) was one of the pioneering railway companies in British Raj, British India. Central Railway Building, Headquartered in Chittagong, it functioned from 1892 to 1942. History Assam Bengal Railway was incorporated in ...

started construction of a railway track on the eastern side of

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

in 1891. A track between

and

Comilla Comilla (), officially spelled Cumilla, is a metropolis on the banks of the Gomti River in eastern Bangladesh. Comilla was one of the cities of ancient Bengal. It was once the capital of Tripura kingdom. Comilla Airport is located in the Duli ...

was opened to traffic in 1895. The Comilla-Akhaura-Kulaura-Badarpur section was opened in 1896–1898 and finally extended to

Lumding Lumding is a town with a municipal board in Hojai District in of Assam state in India. It is the location of Lumding Junction railway station, a hub for India's Northeast Frontier Railway network. Assamese and Meitei ( Manipuri) are the o ...

in 1903. On 1 January 1906, Bengal Railway Company was merged with Assam Bengal Railway.

Laksam-Noakhali branch line

The Laksam-Noakhali Line is a railway line connecting

and

. This line is also under the jurisdiction of

. Laksam - Noakhali section was constructed by Bengal Railway company in 1903.

Laksam-Chandpur branch line

The Laksam–Chandpur line is a railway line connecting

and Chandpur. This line is also under the jurisdiction of

. Laksam - Chandpur section was constructed by Bengal Railway company in 1906.

Cox's Bazar and Gundum links

Construction of a railway track from

Dohazari Dohazari is a municipal area in southeast Bangladesh. It is in Dohazari municipality of Chandanaish Upazila, Chittagong District. History The Mughal Subahdar Shaista Khan expelled the Arakanese from Chittagong in 1666 and established Mughal r ...

Cox's Bazar Cox's Bazar (; ; ) is a city, fishing port, tourism centre, and Cox's Bazar District, district headquarters in south-eastern Bangladesh. Cox's Bazar Beach, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Bangladesh, is the longest uninterrupte ...

has been initiated. Thereafter, it is proposed to be extended to Gundum on the

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

–

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

border for linking with

Myanmar Railways Rail transport in Myanmar consists of a railway network with 960 stations. The network, generally spanning north to south with branch lines to the east and west, is the second largest in Southeast Asia, and includes the Yangon Circular Railway ...

as part of Trans-Asian Railway.

Agartala link

Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...

is constructing a track from Agartala to Akhaura junction through Gangasagar in Bangladesh opposite to Belabor-Gazaria area in south-west Agartala. Agartala is from Kolkata via Guwahati, whereas the distance between Agartala and Kolkata via Bangladesh is just about .

Developments

Out of the total length of between Dhaka and Chittagong, only is double-track and non-contiguous. Efforts are on to make the entire length double-track. In 2017 an agreement with Chinese contractors was signed to double-track and regauge the railway line to

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

. 2·5bn of the total cost of 3·1bn

taka The taka (, , sign: , code: BDT, short form: Tk) is the currency of Bangladesh. In Unicode, it is encoded at . Issuance of banknotes 10 and larger is controlled by Bangladesh Bank, while the 2 and 5 govt. notes are the responsibility of the ...

is to be provided as assistance by Chinese government.

Trains

Fifteen trains leave Chittagong railway station every day for different parts of the country: Paharika, Jalalabad and Udayan Express for Sylhet, Sagarika and Meghna for Chandpur, Karnaphuli, Dhaka Mail and Turna Nishita for Dhaka, Godhuli for Dhaka, Nasirabad for Bahadurabad, Dhaka mail for Dhaka, and Paharika and two shuttle trains for Chittagong University. There are some intercity train and Mail/Express train departure from Akhaura to different city. Such as Bijoy Express, Mohanagar Express, Paharika Express, Turna, Udayan Express and Upakul Express. Chattala Express, Chittagong Mail, Comilla Commuter, Dhaka Express, Jalalabad Express, Karnafuli Express, Mymenshing Express, Surma Mail, Sylhet Commuter, Titas Commuter.

References

External links

Trains from Chittagong
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhaura-Laksam-Chittagong line Railway lines opened in 1895 Metre-gauge railways in Bangladesh Rail transport in Chittagong Laksam Upazila