Bangladesh - India Passenger Service Resumes

The passenger train service between Calcutta in India and the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka has resumed more than 40 years after it was suspended during a war between India and Pakistan in the 1960s.

Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in 1971 following the 1965 war, but the two countries only agreed to resume the train link in 2001.

The Maitreyi, or Friendship, Express will carry 360 passengers on the 500km route for £4.

Police say three bombs were placed on the route by a group representing Hindu refugees from Bangladesh, Nikhil Banga Nagarik Sangha (All Bengal Citizens Committee), who are opposed to the strengthening of relations between the two countries due to religious persecution.

The bombs were found and defused, the BBC reports.

By staff writer