First rail comes in a month

Kathmandu, Dec. 24

Missing several deadlines, the first set of trains from India is likely to arrive in Nepal by the end of January next year, said the Department of Railway.

A team of DoR officials led by its Director General Balram Mishra visited the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited, an Indian government-owned rail enterprise in Chennai, last week.

“The rail is under production and the company has said that it can deliver it by the end of next month. But still we are doubtful due to the current political situation in India,” said Aman Chitrakar, senior Divisional Engineer and Spokesperson at the DoR.

But the department is making preparations for the rail operation in Janakpur-Jayanagar section immediately after the arrival of the train.

Nepal is buying two DEMU (Diesel Electric Multiple Unit) trains, with engines at both sides, at the cost of Rs. 846.5 million. The trains will have five to 10 bogies.

The Cabinet had given a positive nod to the train procurement in March this year although the initiatives were made even earlier, the Indian company had delayed the delivery of the locomotives also because Nepal failed in timely communication about the technical requirements of the machines.

If the things go well, the second set of the trains will enter Nepal by February end in 2020.

Chitrakar said that the DoR was acquiring human resources required for the railway operation from the international market, primarily India, since the country does not have railway technicians and staff. The department had tried to revive the erstwhile Nepal Railway Company, the government-agency that operated Janakpur-Jayanagar Railway service in the past, which has been non-functional since 2014, and use it as a human resource development centre.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 25 December 2019.