Train to Bangladesh reaches at last

Exactly 43 years later -- the rail link between India and Bangladesh was suspended during the first Indo-Pak war in 1965 -- two trains left Kolkata and Dhaka respectively on Monday, bound for a much longer distance than just the border. There were love and flower petals on both sides, and a clutch of passengers who blinked away tears.

The first truly transnational train began its maiden run from the Kolkata terminal at exactly 7.15 am, five minutes from its scheduled departure. There was a sense of urgency in the sprightly demeanour of rail and security officials, as they went about their job before the train pulled out -- tying loose ends and egging on each other to hurry up. The passengers, though few -- only 65 in a train of 368 -- sidestepped the security dogs sniffing at them and embarked on their 'homecoming'.

For once temper hung on tightly to the frayed nerves though security officers were struggling with the job at hand. There were amusing scenes in the baggage X-ray room where RPF personnel were seen huddled before the screen trying to figure out the X-ray images that flashed on it. The largely empty coaches were ignored -- as if history needed all the space available to announce its moment. The lack of public campaigns about this run ensured only three travelling by the second class sleeper coach and 40 in the air-conditioned chair car. The rest were the witnesses -- the media.

The train ran into its first hurdle near Aranghata, a few stations before Gede, which is the last on the Indian side. There were sporadic protests in Aranghata, which the train zoomed past. Gede was the stop for immigration check. What continued next were a sad waste of time. The paperwork for just 65 passengers took the authorities almost two hours.

Each counter had at least three officials pouring over the documents. Some passengers were irritated at this and some hoped that things would get better with time. Bags and suitcases were opened and reopened; there was confusion on whether a pair of binoculars should be clubbed with toys or whether two pairs of binoculars or seven saris were 'too much' to carry. Lunch was served in the waiting room, which by that time had become a humid furnace.

Moments later, passengers were only too happy to be on their way. As 82-year-old Shakti Sharan Das of Lake Town put it: "This journey is like rosogolla. You have to taste it to know what it is all about." A senior technical officer of the Eastern Rail-way said: "This is a satisfying experience. The construction of the Bangabandhu Setu is the crucial link on this track." He went on to explain how the footboard of the conventional Indian rake was redesigned to suit the structure of the Bangabandhu Setu or the Jamuna bridge. Unlike the normal ones, these footboards do not protrude out, he said.

The next stop was Darshana, the first stop on the Bangladesh side. The swapping of the locomotives, complete with coloured buntings, was a spectacular event. Around 2 pm local time, the Kolkata-bound train from Dhaka reached Darshana. The Dhaka-bound Indian train was awaiting the arrival of its counterpart. The two locomotives along with the crew were exchanged here.

There were loud cheers and applause from the hundreds who had gathered on the train tracks. The loudspeaker in the minimalist platform blared greetings and travellers were showered with petals and greeted with bouquets of rajanigandha (tuberoses) as they made their way into the customs building.

The crew of the Eastern Railway comprised driver Chotelal Ram, assistant driver Ashok Saha and guard H P Mistri, who handed over the baton to their Bangladeshi counterparts -- locomaster Md Shaukat Ali and Md Anwar Hussain (reserve), assistant locomasters Md Asaduzzaman Khan and Aizul Islam and conductor guard M A Hanif.

The veteran Shaukat Ali has been with the Bangladesh Railways for "37 years and six months", he said. He has been the "proud locomaster", steering the train in all trial runs held between the two countries since 2001. The train then sets forth for Dhaka. On its way, it leaves behind Kushthiya, Poradah, Bheramara and makes it way over the age old Lalan Setu over the river Padma.

It stops for a brief halt at Ishwardih and Shirazganj before running on the technical wonder -- the Jamuna bridge or Bangabandhu Setu. Built with Japanese technology, the bridge is over four kilometres in length. It is mandatory for vehicles to pay a toll of 400 taka to cross the bridge, we were told. The train reached Dhaka at 8.30 pm Bangladesh time and was greeted to a carnival on the platform. The scene was much the same at the other side when Maitree Express pulled in at platform 1 of the Kolkata Station at 9 pm. The seven coaches carrying 336 passengers had left Dhaka at 8.30 am in the morning.

Passengers were received by eager relatives and old friends. Putting foot on Indian soil, 76-year-old K S Jaman -- accompanied by his wife Mumtaj Zaman, daugher Monima Sultana and two grandchildren -- said: "I belong to this land." He said: "We had a four-storeyed house in Shibpur, Howrah and on one fateful day in 1946, we had to leave behind everything. In Shantinagar, Dhaka, we live in a four-storeyed house today but it is rented."

Twenty-eight-year-old Shimon Zaffar has only read about the Partition. He said: "It is a wonderful experience to visit a neighbouring country by train. I have distant friends here, but am here to see India. I will be in Delhi in a couple of days."

Public Relations Officer of Eastern Railway Sameer Goswami said: "Since the trial run is over, the train will next leave for Dhaka on Saturday and Sunday at 7.30 am. It will reach Dhaka by 8.30 in the evening. From that side, the train with a capacity of 418 will leave at 8.30 in the morning."