Take bus from Lahore to Agartala via Dhaka: ADB has a Saarc plan

A bus service from Lahore to Agartala, right across Bangladesh. Road corridors from Indian ports to landlocked Bhutan and Nepal.

A bus service from Lahore to Agartala, right across Bangladesh. Road corridors from Indian ports to landlocked Bhutan and Nepal. A train service from Colombo to Chennai.

These are among the feasible linkages proposed in the SAARC Regional Multimodal Transport Study conducted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), The Indian Express has learnt. The study identifies 10 road and five rail corridors, besides inland waterways and maritime gateways.

The proposed road from Lahore to Agartala is to touch New Delhi, Kolkata, Petrapole-Benapole and Dhaka, and has the potential of providing a shorter route to “major intra-regional traffic”, resulting in transport cost savings, says the study.

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The proposed Kathmandu-Birgunj/Raxaul-Kolkata road corridor will connect ports in Kolkata and Haldia to Nepal while the one from Thimpu to Kolkata via Phuentsholing will reach the ports.

A rail corridor connecting Chennai and Colombo is aimed at restoring the old rail ferry link “to provide passenger and goods access from Sri Lanka to mainland South Asia”. Another important rail corridor is for connecting Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, from Lahore to Imphal via Delhi, Kolkata, Dhaka.

With Afghanistan joining SAARC this year, the study will be expanded. Delhi has been pushing for connectivity with Kabul so that it can seek transit rights from Pakistan.