Modi, Hasina launch India-Bangladesh rail, bus services

New Delhi: Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina on Saturday jointly launched new rail and bus services between India and Bangladesh and restored an old rail link between the two South Asian neighbours following bilateral talks here.

"Building the ties that bind, one step at a time. The two leaders in inaugurate two rail and a road connectivity project via video conferencing," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted.

The two Prime Ministers launched the Maitree Express train that will run between Kolkata and Khulna in Bangladesh and bus services



between Kolkata and Dhaka via Khulna.

The two leaders also restored a once defunct rail link between Radhikapur in north Bengal and Biral in Bangladesh and flagged off a cargo consignment of high speed diesel from Numaligarh Refinery in Assam.

Earlier, following the bilateral talks, two countries signed 22 agreements across multiple sectors.

The two leaders also released the Hindi translation of "Unfinished Memoirs", the autobiography of Bangladesh's founder and Sheikh Hasina's father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.