Rail transport in Nepal

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The rail transport in Nepal is on short cross-border branch routes of the Indian broad gauge network handled that serve only to freight. Larger projects for the connection to China and the construction of a route through Nepal are in preparation.

history

In the years 1927 and 1937, a narrow-gauge railway approximately 50 km long was opened in Nepal, which made the connection to the Indian broad-gauge network. Both routes were abandoned in the 2000s and replaced by short broad-gauge routes that lead to dry ports on Nepalese soil on the border with India.

network

past

Nepal Government Railways

The first railway line in Nepal was laid in 1927 by the Nepal Government Railways and ran from Raxaul in the state of Bihar in India to Amlekhganj in Nepal. It was 48 km long, two kilometers of which was on Indian soil, and was built with a gauge of 762 mm. Operations ceased in 1965. Part of the route was then used for a 5.4 km long branch line from Raxaul to the dry port in Sirsiya near Birgunj . Opened in 2005 new broad gauge line is exclusively by freight trains of Indian Railways used.

Janakpur Railway

In 1937 a further 53 km long line - also in 762 mm gauge, was built from Bijalpura via Janakpur to Jaynagar in Bihar, where there was a connection to the Indian broad gauge network. Most of the route was in Nepal, only three kilometers were on Indian soil. After a bridge collapse, the section from Bijalpura to Janakpur was closed in 2001. The remaining 29 km of the line from Janakpur to Jaynagar continued to be operated and sporadically used for local passenger and freight traffic until the line was closed in 2014 for conversion to broad gauge. In 2017 the line was reopened as a branch line from Indian Railways to Khajuri. The locomotives of the old Janakpur Railway were still there in June 2017.

present

Nepal is connected to the Indian Railways network with two short broad gauge lines:

Active railway lines in Nepal
Bhf Nepal India station length opened
Birgunj Raxaul 5.6 km 2005
Khajuri Chanha Jaynagar 8.5 km 2017

future

Connection to China

On March 21, 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Nepal's Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli agreed to build a new rail link between the two countries through Tibet . In 2018, a letter of intent was signed with China to build the line that would connect Kathmandu to the existing Chinese network at Xigazê via the border crossing at Rasuwa Gadhi . The line would be built in the standard gauge (1435 mm) customary in China , with about 115 km of the line in Nepal. The line could be completed by 2022.

Expansion of connection to India

India plans to build the two existing broad-gauge lines further inland from Nepal and to equip four more border crossings with rails:

  • The route from Raxhaul is to be extended to Kathmandu.
  • The route from Jaynagar is scheduled to reach Kurtha terminus via Janakpur by 2018 . In two further phases, Bhangaha in the Mahottari district is to be reached first and then Bardibas .
  • A new line is to be built from Jogbani to Biratnagar and opened in 2018. The continuation to Katahari is under construction.
  • A new short route is to connect Kankarbhitta to the rail network at New Jalpaiguri in the very east of Nepal .
  • The route from Gorakhpur (India) is to be extended beyond Nautanwa to Siddharthanagar .
  • The route from Bahraich is supposed to be via Nepalganj Road across the border to Nepalgunj .

Projects within Nepal

Mechi-Mahakali train

Around 2010, the proposal for the construction of a 945 km long electrified line from west to east through Nepal emerged. The railway is to run from Kankarbhitta in the Mechi administrative zone via Bhim Datta in the Mahakali administrative zone to the Indian border near Gaddachowki. The construction of the first section Bardibas - Simara began on June 15, 2014 with the laying of the foundation stone . The detailed project plan for the entire route should be available in November 2018.

Kathmandu Metro

In 2012, a consortium of Korean and Nepalese consultancies submitted an initial report on the feasibility of a subway in Kathmandu to the Ministry of Railways. The report proposed building five lines in the Kathmandu Valley - four within the Ring Road and one around the Ring Road. The cost of building the 77 km long network was estimated at 330 billion Nepalese rupees (4.12 billion euros). At the end of 2017, the detailed feasibility study and the creation of a detailed project plan were commissioned.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b ESCAP (Ed.): Monograph Series on Transport Facilitation of International Railway Transport in Asia and the Pacific . 2013, 2. Current operational status of international railway transport in the region, p. 7-8 ( unescap.org ).
  2. ^ A b Glyn Williams: Railways in Nepal. 2018 .;
  3. ↑ a b India to resume services on rail link with Nepal after successful trial . In: Hindustan Times . August 12, 2018 ( hindustantimes.com ).
  4. ^ Himalayan snub for India as Nepal signs railway deal with China. In: Rediff News (English). March 21, 2016, accessed May 25, 2016 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g India, Nepal decide to upgrade road and cross-border rail links . In: The Times of India . April 7, 2018 ( indiatimes.com ).
  6. ^ Mechi - Mahakali Electric Railway construction launched . In: Railway Gazette . December 15, 2018 ( zdf.de [accessed March 10, 2019]).
  7. ↑ Facts on railways . In: The Himalayan Times . October 17, 2017 ( thehimalayantimes.com ).
  8. ^ Mechi - Mahakali Electric Railway construction launched . In: Railway Gazette . June 19, 2014 ( railwaygazette.com ).
  9. ^ DPR of East-West Electric Rail by Nov 2018 . In: The Himalayan Times . September 24, 2017 ( thehimalayantimes.com ).
  10. ↑ Kathmandu Post (ed.): Metro rail project moves ahead . November 14, 2017 ( ekantipur.com ).