India-Bangladesh working to increase frequency of Maitree and Bandhan Express: Piyush Goyal

Bangladesh has proposed to increase the frequency of Bandhan Express from four to six days a week and that of Maitree from the current one day a week to three days.

New Delhi: India and Bangladesh are working towards increasing the frequency of Maitree and Bandhan Express trains running between the two countries, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.

Bangladesh Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujon, who met Goyal, proposed that for greater connectivity between the two countries the frequency of the trains should be increased.

Bangladesh has proposed to increase the frequency of Bandhan Express from four to six days a week and that of Maitree from the current one day a week to three days.

"We are working towards increasing the frequency of Maitree and Bandhan Express trains. We want to take the shared agenda of Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and PM Narendra Modi forward. While our External Affairs Minister will visit Bangladesh soon, Hasina is expected to visit India in October," Goyal told reporters after the meeting.

"During our meeting, we discussed various issues, including speeding up of various projects. We want to make the system more interactive so that there are no delays," he said.

The two trains connect India and Bangladesh. While Maitree Express train runs between Kolkata and Dhaka, Bandhan Express train connects Kolkata to Khulna.

Sujon said Bangladesh was looking at India for technology and training so that its own rail network can be restored.

"We have proposed to India to increase the frequency of Maitree and Bandhan so that the ties between the two countries are strengthened further.