Railway line to ease Nepal's cargo woes

In what could significantly boost Indo-Nepal trade ties, Pipavav Rail Corporation Ltd (PRCL) has submitted to the Nepal government a feasibility report on the proposed 174-km rail route between Birgunj (in Nepal) and Kathmandu.

The new route will ensure smoother transfer of Nepal's cargo to and from the Kolkata port. At present, only a 10-km line connects Birgunj to Raxaul (in Bihar).

The Nepalese government had, in March 2006, asked a private company, Benchmark, to get a detailed study done for extending the existing 10-km rail line between Raxaul and Birgunj up to Kathmandu. Benchmark awarded the contract to PRCL.

Currently, the 10-km broad gauge line which connects Raxaul to Birgunj is used to bring containerised cargo across the border. The cargo is then taken to the Kolkata port by road, which is a 290-km-long journey.

However, with the possibility of the Raxaul-Birgunj rail line extending up to Kathmandu, Nepal's economy is likely to get a big boost as the rail route will reduce the distance by half.

The new line will also boost the bilateral trade between India and Nepal. PRCL Managing Director RC Dubey said there could be a possibility of India getting a chance to construct the line keeping in the mind the close ties the two countries shared.

Also, China had, a long time ago, offered to provide Nepal rail connectivity through Tibet. The fact that the Nepalese government preferred to involve an Indian company for preparing the detailed project report was reason enough to hope that India might may be asked to take part in the project, Dubey added.