Janakpur-Jayanagar Railway to be completed by 2018

Kathmandu, Dec. 22: The Department of Railways (DoRW) Thursday said that the Janakpur-Jayanagar Railway would be completed by the end of 2018.

The government is upgrading the Janakpur-Jayanagar Railway line and extending it up to Bardibas of Mahottari district.

Director general of the DoRW Ananta Acharya told the Legislature-Parliament's Development Committee meeting that about 80 per cent works of the project had been completed, and the railway line would connect Bardibas with Janakpur by 2020.

"About 80 per cent of the formation level construction on the Janakpur-Jayanagar section has been completed while 40 per cent embankment filling at the Janakpur-Bijalpura section has been finished. Railway stations and staff quarters as well as bridges and culverts are under construction at various locations," said Acharya.

The total length of the railway is 69 kilometres.

 The government also plans to develop a 262-kilometre-long Bardibas-Kakarbhitta railway and initiated Detailed Project Report (DPR) works for it.

"Similarly, the feasibility of Nijgad-Hetauda-Bharatpur railway (135 km) is in the  final phase, and the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) of Simara-Bardibas has been approved, and construction works on the Bardibas-Lanbandi section of the project are underway," said. Acharya.

According to the DoRW, feasibility study of the Mechi-Mahakali Railway, including its extension to Aabu Khaireni, and north south link, Kathmandu-Pokhara has been completed.

The government is working on six major railway projects: Mechi-Mahakali Railway, Cross Border Connectivity Railway at five different points, Kathmandu-Pokhara-Lumbini Electric Railway, Rasuwagadhi-Kathmandu Railway, Kathmandu-Birgunj Electrified Railway and Kathmandu Valley Metro Rail.

Cross border railway line will connect Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa, Janakpur, Biratnagar and Kakarbhitta to the Indian Railway lines across the Nepal-India border.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Nepal and India in 2011 during the visit of then President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav.

Meanwhile, the Development Committee has criticised the government for not being able to grasp the importance of railways in national development and connectivity.

"Lack of will power in the government leadership, poor coordination among the concerned agencies and a weak bureaucracy are to blame for falling behind in railway development," said chairman of the Committee Rabindra Adhikari.

The committee directed the government to prepare the DPR of the Rasuwagadhi-Kathmandu-Pokhara-Lumbini railways and expedite the construction of the Mechi-Mahakali and Kathmandu-Pokhara Electric railway.

Likewise, it asked the government and the Railway Department to prepare a master plan for metro rail in the Kathmandu Valley and prepare the DPR of the Kathmandu-Birgunj Railway.

The Committee has also asked the government to conduct feasibility study of mining-based construction materials as the river-based materials like stones, pebbles and sand are being used up completely.

Lawmaker Baijanath Chaudhary raised concern about the shortage of construction materials due to over-dependency on them.