GUWAHATI: According to officials on Tuesday, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) and Bhutan have talked about collaborating on trade projects to boost future links between the two nations.

Sabyasachi De, the NFR's chief public relations officer, reported that a business development meeting was recently held in the NFR's Alipurduar division, and delegations from the foreign ministry, trade associations, and chamber of commerce of Bhutan were present the meeting.

The delegations from the host countries went to the Hasimara train station, where the NFR is strategically building an infrastructure to support commerce with Bhutan. The Central Warehousing Corporation and the CPRO are working together to establish a siding and warehouse to improve logistic trade with Bhutan, according to the CPRO.

Indian Railways has actually already sent its first shipment of cargo to Bhutan via a multi-modal route made up of 75 utility cars.

The vehicles were shipped by the New Modified Goods (NMG) rake, which was created specifically to ship light motor vehicles (LMV), from Chennai to Hasimara railway station. On October 28, the rake arrived in Alipurduar division, from where the shipment was then conveyed by land to Bhutan.

The delegation is planning to go to Changrabandha station soon.

There were also discussions about the transportation of cars, cement, and stone products, as well as improving interpersonal relationships and the growth of tourism.

According to De, the Alipurduar division conveyed to the representatives of the Bhutanese government the idea that railways are the most environmentally friendly method of logistics for commodities and are a viable choice for mass transit both within the nation and beyond South-East Asia.

NFR representatives explained to the Bhutanese delegations how cost-effective and strategically advantageous it is to move commodities quickly and in large quantities to markets throughout India and Bhutan.

 Indian Railways has already begun new projects for cross-border connections by building a broad-gauge railway line from Kokrajhar (Assam) in India to Gelephu in Bhutan, the CPRO said.

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