Gede railway station explained

Gede
Type: Indian Railways & Kolkata Suburban Railway station
Style:Kolkata Suburban Railway
Address:Gede, Nadia, West Bengal
Country:India
Elevation:15 metres
Accessible:Not available
Bicycle:Not available
Structure:Standard (on-ground station)
Platform:3
Tracks:4
Parking:Available
Opened:1962
Electrified:1997–98
Owned:Indian Railways
Operator:Eastern Railway
Status:Functioning
Former:Eastern Bengal Railway
Map Type:India West Bengal#India
Map Dot Label:Gede
Map Size:300
Map State:collapsed

Gede is the last railway station on the Indian side of the Bangladesh–India border in Krishnaganj CD Block in Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The corresponding station on the Bangladesh side is . It is the terminal station on the Sealdah–Gede section of Kolkata Suburban Railway system.[1] There is a border checkpoint at Gede.

History

Gede was one of the stations on the Sealdah–Goalundo route of East Bengal Railway. With the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town. Thereafter there were three trains from Sealdah running into East Pakistan: the East Bengal Express, the East Bengal Mail and the Barisal Express. The services all ceased after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Freight trains ran on PetrapoleBenapole, Gede–Darshana and Singhabad–Rohanpur lines off and on since 1972 after the independence of Bangladesh, and more regularly after transport agreements were signed by the two countries in the 1990s.[2] Radhikapur–Birol section was another section for movement of goods traffic. As of 2002, the Gede-Darshana section accounted for the bulk of the exports handled by the Indian Railways (both the Eastern Railway and the Northeast Frontier Railway together) for Bangladesh.[3]

A direct train between Dhaka and Kolkata, named Maitree Express (Maitree is a Sanskrit word meaning friendship) commenced on 14 April 2008. The train is managed by Indian Railways and Bangladesh Railway. The approximate distance covered by Maitree Express is estimated at around, a stretch of in India and a stretch of in Bangladesh. The train follows the border point route at Gede–Darshana. The train runs on Saturdays and Sundays every week.[4] Passengers of the Maitree Express are irked by the five-hour wait for immigration and customs clearance at the border stations of Darshana and Gede.[5]

Trans-Asian Railway

Currently, all freight traffic originating from Asia destined for Europe goes by sea. The Trans-Asian Railway will enable containers from Singapore, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and Korea to travel over land by train to Europe. The Southern Corridor of the Trans-Asian Railway is of prime interest to India. It connects Yunnan in China and Thailand with Europe via Turkey and passes through India.[6]

The proposed route will enter India through Tamu and Moreh in Manipur bordering Myanmar, then enter Bangladesh through Mahisasan and Shabajpur and again enter India from Bangladesh at Gede. On the western side, the line will enter Pakistan at Attari. There is a missing link on this route in the India–Myanmar sector; of this,, in India, is between Jiribam in Manipur and Tamu in Myanmar. The rail link between Jiribam and Imphal has been sanctioned by Indian Railways, but that is unlikely to be completed before 2016. At present construction work is in progress in a stretch between Jiribam and Tupul.[7] [8] [9] [10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gede railway station. India Rail Info.
  2. Web site: Train links Dhaka, Kolkata . 2009-08-15 . New Age, 16 April 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080421193817/http://www.newagebd.com/2008/apr/16/front.html . 21 April 2008 . dmy .
  3. Web site: Poor facilities railroad Petrapole-Benapole traffic . 2009-08-15 . Santanu . Santanu . The Hindu Business Line. 3 June 2002.
  4. Web site: International Trains from India . 2009-08-15 . railwaysheadlinesindia . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090322002442/http://www.railways.headlinesindia.com/international-railway.html . 22 March 2009 . dmy .
  5. Web site: Dhaka–Kolkata Train Service – Long waits for customs job discouraging passengers . 2009-08-15 . Ashraf. Shamim . The Daily Star . 14 August 2009.
  6. Web site: Trans-Asian Railway. Streamline Supply Chain. 2011-12-22 .
  7. Web site: Agreement on Trans-Asian railway passing through Manipur signed . Larkhawm . 2011-12-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120426065804/http://www.lawrkhawm.com/index.php?page=475 . 26 April 2012 . dead .
  8. Web site: India signs accord on trans-Asian railway network . https://web.archive.org/web/20070812093328/http://www.hindu.com/2007/07/01/stories/2007070150650900.htm . dead . 12 August 2007 . 1 July 2007. . 2011-12-22 .
  9. Web site: B'desh segment of TAR route preparation shows progress . Financial Express. 18 March 2011 . 2011-12-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140219111626/http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=129648&date=2011-03-18 . 19 February 2014 . dead .
  10. Web site: Manipur gets rail gift for Trinamul bypoll win – Tall promises of connecting all capitals of region leaves Northeast industry captains unimpressed . https://archive.today/20120919115055/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110226/jsp/frontpage/story_13637652.jsp . dead . 19 September 2012 . The Telegraph. 26 February 2011 . 2011-12-22 .