By Karuna Thapa
Kathmandu, March 29
On April 2, the Jayanagar-Kurtha (Janakpur) Railway will be inaugurated. The Prime Ministers of Nepal and India have planned to inaugurate the railway by establishing a virtual cross-border train service, according to a source in the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. Since 2014, India has been suspending rail services in order to rebuild its railroads.
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually
restart the Jayanagar-Kurtha (Janakpur) railway service as PM Deuba will visit India on Friday. On March 22, 2022, the government published the Railway Regulations for the third time.
After conducting a speed test by widening the stretch towards Nepal to Broad Gauge, India
turned over the railway to Nepal Railway Company. In 2019, the civil works on the 34-kilometer wide-gauge extension of the Janakpur-Jayanagar railway were finished. In January 2019, the government declared that trains would run on the Janakpur-Jayanagar line.
The train will now be run by Nepal Railway Company in collaboration with India’s Konkan Railway Company. These trains cost Rs 1.3 billion and were acquired to cover normal customs duties and VAT. After 17 months, passengers will be able to board the train on a regular basis.
