India will launch a special train service linking West Bengal with Bangladesh to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore in May next year.

Railway minister Mamata Banerjee announced the launch of the special service across the Bangladesh-India border while presenting the rail-budget for 2010-2011 in the Lok Sabha, the Lower House of the India's Parliament, on Wednesday. "Tagore is the only poet in the world whose poems have been adopted as National Anthems by two countries – Amar Sonar Bangla for Bangladesh and Jana Gana Mana for India. Tagore lived and produced many of his literary jewels in undivided Bengal," Banerjee told the House.

"In homage to this great savant and to strengthen the maitree (friendship) between Bangladesh and India, it is proposed to run a special train in consultation with the Government of Bangladesh across the border so that the two countries share the opportunity of celebrating his 150th birth anniversary jointly," she added.

Full report here bdnews24.com