India and Bangladesh will work on a new rail link between the two countries along Tripura (India) to ease surface transport in the mountainous northeastern states. The work would start this year, officials of the two countries said in Agartala recently. India will build a 15-km railway track linking Tripura, capital Agartala, with Bangladesh's southeastern city of Akhaurah, which is also an important railway junction connected to Chittagong port, resource-rich Sylhet and Dhaka.    

The proposed rail project is estimated at Rs 252 crore. The Indian Railway Construction Company (IRCON) would lay the new railway tracks on both sides of the border, an official of the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) said.  West Tripura District Magistrate Kiran Gitte, who led the Indian side in the meeting, said that works, including survey and alignment of the railway line, have been completed.    

An agreement for the new railway line was signed between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina during her visit to India in January 2010.