Saw a foreign country for the first time.

Journey Plan and Objectives:

• I had this in my mind for a couple of while to visit Gede. Reason? I had never been there before, International Border is just ~1100m from the station (visible in naked eyes), wanted to observe the crew replacement of 13107 DOWN Dhaka-Kolkata Maitree Express (Bangladeshi staff members deport the train and Indian staff members and BSF take control of it). Gede is 90km from my location, approx 2 hrs of journey on SDAH-GEDE local.
• After getting my journey plan approved by my parents I started researching more about the train I will travel in (31915 and 31922) and about Gede-Darshana zero point. Videos related to how to cross borders from both sides (legally of course!) were mostly from Bangladeshi YouTube channels. According to them, the immigration process through the Gede-Darshana border is very smooth compared to other checkpoints including one in Radhikapur(Dist: Dinajpur) and in Bangaon (Dist: N 24 Pgs) [Petrapole{IN} - Benapole{IN}].
• To touch and cross the border there is a lot of formality and processes you have to go through. After you got your Passport and Visa and all other necessary documents you gotta give ₹650 as travel tax (same amount for both sides). Although crossing the India-Bangladesh border (legally) gotta be much simpler than most other International borders, going through all the hustle of getting my Visa and Taxes is not worth it for me. Cause what am I gonna do after I step into Bangladesh? I don't have any relatives there (many people in WB have their relatives and ancestral properties in Bangladesh).
• Rather than applying for Visa and wasting my time just spending ₹25 on Sealdah - Gede local seems to be a much much better choice. 2 hrs long train journey + Rail Fanning + You can see Bangladesh from Gede Railway Station. So I scheduled my travel on Aug 29.
• 1. Reach IP at about 1000
  2. Board SDAH-GEDE local (31915) at 1037
  3. See the stations between the RHA-GEDE route.
  4. Reach Gede at 1245
  5. Try to get as close as I can to the border without getting into any trouble.
  6. After RailFanning for ~30mins return to Platform and wait for DOWN 13107 Maitree Express.
  7. Observe the crew exchange and all the procedures of an International Train.
  8. Click photos of 13107 in Gede (if permissible only, otherwise just quietly observe)
  9. Hop on DOWN 31922 GEDE-SDAH local (same train I used to board from KYI while returning from College) at 1406
  10. Reach back to IP at about 1630 and to home within 1700. Total 8 hrs of duration.

Achievement

• Not 100 per cent :( Either 13107 was cancelled on Aug 29 or it was scheduled to arrive at Gede after the departure of 31922 (the exact train I preplanned to board). Because there is only one down line in the GEDE-RHA route. So only one train has to depart first from Gede and it was 31922. So I didn't get to see down Maitree Express.
• Other than that everything was better than my expectation. 12 coach Bombardier/Medha Rake from BT carshed (one of the best local train rake in India), very less crowd, > 90 kmph on RHA-GEDE route and excellent captures!

Map

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  I managed to go upto the Immigration Check Post. It is about 280 m away form Gede Railway Station. The Border is only ~800 m away from there.

My Experience:

• After landing on Gede I went straight ahead to capture pics of the train and the border. I went up to the BSF Immigration Checkpost (280 m from the station) to see the border more vividly. After about 25 mins I returned to the PF 1. While recording the platform I was interrupted by an Uncle that no video recording is allowed on the station premises. I was also informed (threatened tbh..) that I am under heavy CCTV surveillance and if required they could snatch away my phone and can get into huge legal trouble.
• After that faceoff, I just put my phone immediately into my pocket and never pulled it out before I depart from Gede. So me going probably to the Checkpost and photographing stuff was probably Illegal. I was in fact under heavy CCTV surveillance. Not your average dead govt CCTVs, real legitimate cameras installed around each possible angle. It's an International Station after all.
• When 31915 arrived at Gede there were no passengers in my coach except a few school students who boarded the train from Bagula came here just for fun. It was 1240 when I arrived. There were only 10 people are combining the whole 3 PFs. Later I observed some Bangladeshi people arrive at Gede after verifying their docs through the Immigration routes.
• It was a quiet place. Most of the houses I saw there belonged to the Officials. Gede was surprisingly neat and clean. I think it's the cleanest station I had ever seen. There is not a single piece of garbage and dirt on the stations. No beggers , no stalls either, only fencing and fencing. While my stay on the platform I saw officials are keeping a strict eye on me. That was intense but I finally managed to get enough pictures to satisfy my appetite.

Galleries:

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  Photo taken near the Immigration Checkpost.
  
  > In 1st pic international border is just 800 m away from that spot. Border fencing is visible on the left. The 2 lines merge into one and go towards Dhaka.
  > In the second pic, you can see how far I am away from Gede station. 31915 is visible on the line I am standing.

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  BSF Immigration checkpost (on Bangladesh side) is visible.
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Resources:

31915 SDAH-GEDE Local 13107 DOWN DAKA-KOAA Maitree Exp.