The section Jaynagar-Kurtha, 34.90 KM is a part of Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas rail (68.72 KM) project which has been funded by India

The first section of India-Nepal rail link from Jaynagar to Bardibas railway service is likely to begin soon.

The section which starts from Jayanagar of India and ends in Kurtha of Dhanusha Jayanagar-Kurtha will be readied for operation by the middle of May, a report in The Himalayan said on Sunday.

The section Jaynagar-Kurtha, 34.90 KM is a part of Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas rail (68.72 KM) project which has been funded by the Government of India. Jaynagar is 4 kilometers from the India-Nepal border.

This route has Janakpur, the famous pilgrim centre in Nepal which is 29 KM from Jayanagar.

Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport of Nepal, Basanta Kumar Nembang on Saturday visited the proposed railway station based in Bardibas of Mahottari, said the report.

On the occasion, he monitored progress of the project and took stock of the preparations of physical infrastructure for the operation of the railway.

Director General at the Department of Railways Pramila Bajracharya, Nepal Railway Company Limited General Manager Guru Prasad Bhattarai and other related officials accompanied the minister, the report stated.

Following the inspection, Nembang said the railway service could be operated along the first segment by mid-May.

The contractor company has already handed the railway track constructed from Jayanagar to Dhanusha and the government has already procured new trains, the Minister said.

The final arrangements for human resources are yet to be signed, the first segment will come into operation within the month of Baisakh (mid-April to mid-May), it said.

Minister Nembnag said preparations for the first phase of Jayanagar-Bardibas Railway from Kurtha to Jaynagar are almost over.

Technical manpower has also been hired from India to operate the rail service and will soon come into operation, Nembang added.

The railway service will be operated only on the 34-km long segment of the total 69-km route.

In January, a statement from India’s Ministry of Railways had stated that the Jayanagar-Kurtha rail connectivity between India and Nepal will be extended up to Bijalpura.

The first phase of this project, the rail line from Jayanagar in Madhubani district, Bihar has been connected to Kurtha in Nepal and will be extended up to Bijalpura by March 2021, India’s Ministry of Railways had said.

The Government of India has spent nearly Rs 550 Crores for the section up to Bijalpura which is further 17 KM from Kurtha.

After Bijalpura, a new line will be constructed till Bardibas after the Government of Nepal hands over land for the project, it added.

This project is being undertaken by IRCON and all rail engineering and infrastructure works are complete, the Ministry had suggested.

India has also given Nepal 2 sets of 1600 HP DEMU passenger rakes supplied by Konkan Rail Corporation Limited (KRCL) to operate rail service on this route.