Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Sunday inaugurated the Tripura Sundari Express, which connects Agartala with Delhi, decades after the state's leaders first demanded rail connectivity. The train will run once a week between Agartala’s railway station and Anand Vihar station in Delhi. It will take 47 hours to cover 2,480 km.

The train will provide services to thousands in Tripura and the neighbouring states of Manipur and Mizoram, which along with the other North East states have historically been left out in many of the country’s key conversations. Prabhu said Rs 7,000 crore has been allocated in this financial year's railway budget for the North East.

Thousands of citizens gathered at the station to mark the flagging off, blowing conch shells and throwing flowers. Officials from the Indian government as well as from Bangladesh were at the launch event. This included Bangladesh’s railway minister Mazibul Hoque, who joined Prabhu in laying the foundation stone for an India-Bangladesh link, between Agartala and Akhaura.