KOAA-KLN Bandhan Express Inauguration --- It was on 9th November 2017, the new passenger train between West Bengal and Bangladesh 'Bandhan Express' rolled out for the first time on track following the flagging-off by Indian Prime Minister, Bangladesh Prime Minister & West Bengal Chief Minister via video conferencing. The train will connect Kolkata to Khulna in Bangladesh. This will be the second train to run between the two countries after Maitree Express that runs between Dhaka and Kolkata. The word Bandhan means 'bond' in English and the new train is a bid to ease communication between the two neighbouring countries and bond them better.

Bandhan Express is the first train to connect Kolkata and Khulna after Barisal Express, which was stopped owing to the India-Pakistan war in 1965. It is a weekly train that will depart from Kolkata every Thurday at 7.10 am and arrive in Khulna, the third largest town in Bangladesh, at 12.30 pm. The total seating capacity of Bandhan Express is 456, of which 312 are in A/C chair car and the rest 144 in A/C first class. The rail travel distance between Kolkata station and Khulna is 172 km of which 77 km are in India and 95 km are in Bangladesh.