'China mooting rail link between Kolkata and Kunming'

Chinese Consul General in Kolkata Ma Zhanwu on Wednesday said his country was mooting a bullet train service between Kunming and Kolkata, traversing through Myanmar and Bangladesh.

With joint efforts of India and China, a high-speed rail link could be established between the two cities, Zhanwu said at a conference in Kolkata.

"It will only take a few hours to reach Kolkata from Kunming if the rail link becomes a reality," he asserted.

The envoy also said that Myanmar and Bangladesh would benefit from the project.

"We may have a cluster of industries along the route. That increases the possibility of economic development of countries involved in the 2,800 km-long projects," he maintained.

The project had also found mention at the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) meet in Kunming in 2015, he said.

The rail route was aimed at boosting trade flow in the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) corridor, Zhanwu said, adding that his country has been striving for the revival of Silk Route to increase connectivity from Kunming to Kolkata.