The Bandhan Express train () is an international express rail service which runs between the Indian city

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

and 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 ...

i city

Khulna Khulna (, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of the Khulna District and the Khulna Division. It is the divisional centre of 10 districts of the division. Khulna is also the seco ...

every week. It is the second modern day, fully air conditioned passenger train link between the Indian state

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

and Bangladesh. The Bengali word ''Bandhan'' means ''bonding'' when translated to English. It was initially referred to as the Maitree Express II. A valid visa and passport is required before purchasing a ticket for the Bandhan Express train. Tickets are available at Khulna railway station in Bangladesh and at Chitpur Station in Kolkata, India. The train service is currently paused indefinitely due to political upheaval in Bangladesh since July-August 2024. The commercial run of this train was suspended in the wake of the global

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

since March 2020. However, the train resumed its normal operations from 29 May 2022. Together with the Maitree Express train and the Mitali Express train, the Bandhan Express train is one of three modern day fully air conditioned passenger train links between the India and Bangladesh.

History

Prime Minister of India,

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

; Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina; and

Chief Minister of West Bengal The chief minister of West Bengal (IAST: Paścim Baṅgēr Mukhya Mantrī) is the '' de facto'' head of the executive branch of the Government of West Bengal, the subnational authority of the Indian state of West Bengal. The chief minister is ...

, Mamata Banerjee, flagged off the Kolkata–Khulna Bandhan Express train service via video conference from on 9 November 2017.

Naming

After the Kolkata–Dhaka Maitree Express train was operational, it was proposed to name this second India–Bangladesh train on the Kolkata–Khulna route as 'Sonartari'. But the same name is used in the railways and trains of both countries and hence it was omitted. Then the names ''Sampritee'' and ''Bandhan'' were offered. Finally the name ''Bandhan'' meaning ''Bonding'' was unanimously accepted.

Route

The route recreates the previous Barisal Express route. The train starts at Kolkata railway station on the Indian side, stopping at

Dum Dum Dum Dum is a city and a municipality in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Author ...

and Bangaon before reaching the Indian border at Petrapole. The train then crosses to Benapole on the Bangladeshi side, going through Jhikargachha &

Jessore Jessore (, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District in Khulna Division. It lies in southwestern Bangladesh. It is home to the first flight training school of the Bangladeshi Air Force, established in 1971. Jessore city consists of 9 wa ...

, before reaching Khulna railway station. There are no immigration or customs checks at the international border between India and Bangladesh for this train. The immigration process is done in Kolkata and Khulna. A valid visa and passport is required before purchasing a ticket for the Bandhan Express train. Tickets are available at Khulna Railway Station in Bangladesh and at Chitpur Station in Kolkata, India. On 8 March 2019 both Government agreed to make a 3-minute halt at Jessore in order to attract more passengers and 200 tickets are reserved for the passengers from Jessore station.

Timings and frequency

Since its inauguration, the train only ran on Thursdays but from February 2020, the frequency was increased and now it runs twice a week, Sunday and Thursday.

Coach composition

Pure LHB coach in red-grey (used by Rajdhani Expresses) and sky blue-grey (used by Shatabdi Expresses) manufactured in India, are used for this train. * It comprises 4 AC First Class (1A), 4 AC Chair car (CC), and 2 Generator cum luggage cum guard van, hence, a total of 10 coaches. ;Legends ; Rake composition of 13129 down Kolkata to Khulna * While 13130 up Khulna to Kolkata has reverse rake composition of 13129.

Gallery

References

External links

Bangladesh Railway
{{International trains from India Benapole Petrapole Named passenger trains of India Named passenger trains of Bangladesh International named passenger trains Transport in Kolkata Bangladesh–India relations Rail transport in West Bengal Rail transport in Khulna