NEW DELHI: Moving forward on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘neighbourhood first’ policy and fulfilling a commitment, the Ministry of Railways will provide 20 broad gauge (BG) diesel locomotives to Bangladesh on Tuesday in a virtual ceremony here. This will be the second assistance in recent times to Bangladesh.
In 2020, 10 BG diesel locomotives were provided to Bangladesh as part of India’s commitment to support Bangladesh in strengthening its railway connectivity.
According to sources, the handover ceremony of 20 BG diesel locomotives to Bangladesh will take place virtually from the Railway Ministry with the Bangladesh Ministry of Railway on Tuesday. Railway ministers of both countries will be present on the occasion.
Sources said all these 20 BG diesel locomotives are WMD3D type BG locomotives with a 3300 HP engine and designed to haul both freight and passenger trains at a speed of 120 kmph. Each of these 20 BG locomotives has a residual life of 28 years or more and are equipped with a microprocessor-based control system. Earlier, 40 BG locomotives were provided to Bangladesh between 2001 and 2014.
The Indian Railways had also exported 120 passenger coaches to Bangladesh in 2017-17.
In 2022, when the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina paid a state visit to India, leaders of both countries expressed their commitment for cooperation in railway.
During the meeting, an MoU was signed between the Railway ministries of India and Bangladesh for the training of Bangladeshi railway personnel in India.
An announcement on 20 BG locomotives to Bangladesh railway was also made.