Track opening for part of rail link completed

BIRATNAGAR, MAY 29 -

Track opening work for a planned cross-border broad gauge railway has been completed from Katahari to Budhanagar. According to chief engineer of the project Mohan Chandra Bhatta, the 11-km section has been completed out of the line’s 13.1 km length extending from Bathnaha to Katahari.

The railway project, which is being undertaken as per an agreement with the government of India to build five cross-border railway links, will connect Jogbani, India with Biratnagar, Nepal. Bhatta said that 35 percent of the culvert construction work on the proposed alignment has also been completed.

The total length of the cross-border railway is 18.1 km with 13.1 km of it falling in Nepal. According to the project, the railway will come into operation ahead of schedule if construction work progresses unhindered. “Around 35 percent of the construction work on the Singhia Khola Bridge has also been completed,” said Bhatta. The government started work on the railway six months ago, and it is targeted to be completed in two years.

The Department of Railways has handed over 120 bighas of land on the Nepal side to the Indian contractor ICRON International for construction of the railway. The project has also paid 80 percent of the compensation to the landowners. The total budget of the railway project is IRs 2.38 billion.

The railway is expected to boost trade between Nepal and India. A station 1,500 m long and 500 m wide will be constructed at Katahari, Morang under the project. It will consist of a railway platform, waiting station and administrative building. The government is planning to connect the railway to the East-West Highway at Katahari. The railway will directly benefit more than 500 factories in the region by facilitating import-export trade.

Source: The Kathmandu Post