Kathmandu, Feb. 6
The
18-km stretch from Kurtha to Bijalpura, a section of the Nepal-India cross-border
rail link, has three stations - Kurtha, Pipradi and Bijalpura, and two halts – small
stations without staff and facilities – at Loharpati and Singyahi.
The
Department of Railways (DoR) said that the infrastructure is ready for the
operation of trains but the service would take some time since human resources
are being managed.
Spokesperson
of the DoR Aman Chitrakar said that the timeline for the train operation is not
finalised yet, however, preparations are being expedited.
According
to him, training for the human resources recruited from the Nepal Railway
Company has concluded and soon they will be deployed to operate the rail
service.
But
core technical manpower such as loco pilots and assistant loco pilots will be
supplied by the Konkan Rail Corporation Limited, the supplier of the trains to
Nepal.
The
DoR had planned to operate railway service in the Janakpur-Jayanagar section
from October 2018 but delay in procuring the locomotives failed the plan.
The
Konkan Rail Corporation could deliver two sets of DEMU trains only in September
2020. However, the trains procured at the cost of Rs. 846.5 million are rusting
at Janakpur station since then.
The
first cross-border railway connectivity project covers about 69.8 km from Jayanagar
in Bihar to Bardibas in Mahottari district in Nepal. However, the third phase
of the project – Bijalpura to Bardibas – is yet to be completed. The project is
funded by India and it has invested about INR 5.5 billion till now.
Till
2014, Nepal had narrow gauge train service which is being converted to broad
gauge passenger rail service.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 7 February 2022.
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