Nepal, India PMs likely to jointly inaugurate cross-border railway link
Categories: FOREIGN COUNTRIES
Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is likely to visit India for a three-day trip on April 1.This will be his first official bilateral visit since he assumed the Prime Minister’s office in July last year.As per sources, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Nepali PM will jointly inaugurate the Kurtha-Jaynagar Railway on April 2 in New Delhi.The train service would cover a distance of 35 kilometres from Jayanagar in India's Bihar state to Kurtha in Janakpur, Nepal.The Department of Railways in Nepal told WION that they have not received any information on the visit of the prime minister. Earlier, India’s Konkan Railway Corporation Limited had handed over two modern diesel-electric multiple unit (DEMU) trains to the Nepal Railways as per the agreement signed between the Konkan Railways Corporation Ltd and Nepal government, which cost Nepal NPR 850 million.India has borne the cost of the construction of the tracks and stations, Bhattarai said. The new railway line is being constructed under the India-Nepal Development Partnership programme, with financial grants being provided by the Government of India. It covers a total distance of 69-kilometres between Jaynagar-Janakpur-Bardibas. Construction work on this project started in 2014. As per the plan, the railway track for this project is being constructed in three phases. Construction of the first phase of the project of 35-km links Jaynagar and Janakpur/Kurtha.“Initially, the train will run once a day from Kurtha to Jayanagar on a regular basis. It is expected that the Nepal Railways Company Limited will increase the frequency gradually”, another official at the department told WION. “Railway fare for the 35-kilometre section is Rs 90 (US $1) per person in ordinary class and five times more will be charged per person in the AC class,” the official added. In this effort, the Jaynagar-Janakpur train service has added a new milestone in Nepal-India relations.Apart from this, Director-General Bhattarai said a study of a railway line from Raxaul, India, to Kathmandu is also underway which is being funded by India."The study is being funded by India, but there is no confirmation if India will be part of the implementation of the project."The initiation of the visit was exchanged between the two countries in October last year, as per sources, but the visit was later cancelled due to increasing Covid cases.