The Akhaura–Kulaura–Chhatak line is a railway line connecting

Akhaura Akhaura ( bn, আখাউড়া ) is an upazila of Brahmanbaria District, a district under Chattogram, Bangladesh. Akhaura Upazila has an area of 99.28 km2. The main river that run through this upazila is the Titas River. Akhaura play ...

and

Chhatak Chhatak ( bn, ছাতক; formerly known as Chhatak Bazaar) is a town in northeastern Bangladesh, on the Surma River in Chhatak Upazila of Sunamganj District in the division of Sylhet. Further reading * {{cite book , last=Hossain , first=Ash ...

, via

Kulaura Kulaura ( bn, কুলাউড়া) is the biggest upazila (subdistrict) of the Moulvibazar District in north-eastern Bangladesh. The total area of this upazila is 545 km2. Hakaluki Haor, the largest marsh wetland in Sylhet and one of the ...

in Bangladesh. This line is under the jurisdiction of

Bangladesh Railway Bangladesh Railway ( bn, বাংলাদেশ রেলওয়ে) is the state-owned rail transport agency of Bangladesh. It operates and maintains all railways in the country, and is overseen by the Directorate General of Bangladesh Ra ...

History

In response to the demands of the Assam tea planters for a railway link to

Chittagong port The Chittagong Port ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম বন্দর) is the main seaport of Bangladesh. Located in Bangladesh's port city of Chittagong and on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the port handles over 90 percent of Bangladesh's ...

Assam Bengal Railway The Assam Bengal Railway (ABR) was one of the pioneering railway companies in British India. Headquartered in Chittagong, it functioned from 1892 to 1942. History Assam Bengal Railway was incorporated in 1892 to serve British-owned tea plantat ...

started construction of a railway track on the eastern side of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

in 1891. A track between

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

and

Comilla Comilla (; bn, কুমিল্লা, Kumillā, ), officially spelled Cumilla, is the fifth largest city of Bangladesh and second largest in Chittagong division. It is the administrative centre of the Comilla District. The name Comilla was ...

was opened to traffic in 1895. The Comilla–Akhaura–Kulaura–Badarpur section was opened in 1896–98 and extended to

Lumding Lumding (Pron:/lʌmˈdɪŋ/) is a city with municipal board in Hojai district in the Indian state of Assam. Etymology The word 'Lumding' owes its roots to a couple of Dimasa words 'Lama' and 'Ding' connoting 'straight pathway'. The word ''Lu ...

by 1903. The Kulaura-Sylhet section was opened 1912–15, the Shaistaganj-Habiganj branch line in 1928, the Shaistaganj–Balla branch line in 1929 and the Sylhet–Chhatak Bazar line in 1954. A metre gauge link exists between Shahbajpur in Bangladesh and

Mahisasan Mahisasan is a border railway station and a defunct railway transit facility point on the India–Bangladesh border in Karimganj district in the Indian state of Assam. The corresponding station on the Bangladesh side is Shahbajpur (also known ...

in India.

Trains

There are several direct trains between Dhaka and Sylhet, such as Parabot, Jointika and Upbon. The one-way journey takes a little over seven hours. There also are trains to Chittagong from Sylhet. The new railway station at Sylhet was opened in 2004. A.K. Rafique Uddin Ahmed, representing Engineering and Planning Consultants Ltd., was the chief architect of the project.

Nearby places

Madhabkunda waterfall Madhabkunda waterfall ( bn, মাধবকুন্ড) is one of the highest waterfalls in Bangladesh. It is situated in Barlekha Upazila in Moulvibazar District. The waterfall is a popular tourist spot in Bangladesh. Big boulders, surrounding fo ...

is a rickshaw ride from Dakshinbag railway station. It is also accessible from Sylhet and Srimangal. Tamabil-

Dawki Dawki or Dauki is a town in West Jaintia Hills district, Meghalaya, India. Geography It is located at , on the border between India and Bangladesh. Dawki Border-crossing Dawki Integrated Check Post or ''Dawki border crossing'' is on Dawki-Tam ...

road border-crossing across the Bangladesh–India border is north of Sylhet.

References

Railway lines opened in 1896 Metre gauge railways in Bangladesh Kulaura Upazila {{Asia-rail-transport-stub