Kerung-Kathmandu rail study complete; Janakpur-Ayodhya train tested
China says its feasibility study for a Kerung-Kathmandu railway is complete, though the report has not been formally handed to Nepal. An Indian special train made a test run to Janakpurdham on November 5.
Two cross-border rail projects saw movement in early November: China says its feasibility study for a Kerung-Kathmandu line is finished, and an Indian special train made a test run into Janakpurdham for a planned service to Ayodhya.
Kerung-Kathmandu rail study
Department of Railways officials told BBC News Nepali that China has said it has completed its feasibility study for the proposed Kerung-Kathmandu railway, which a Nepali team was briefed on in talks with the Chinese side in Xi'an. According to BBC News Nepali, the study, carried out with a Chinese grant, puts the Nepal-side length at 78.1 kilometres, with about 96 percent of the route on high bridges and in tunnels. Nepal Khabar, citing officials who returned from China, reported the same 78-kilometre length and 96 percent share, with the line running from Kerung to Tokha in Kathmandu and stations proposed at Kerung, Dhunche, Nuwakot and Tokha.
The two outlets give different cost figures. Nepal Khabar reported a preliminary construction cost estimate of Rs 257 billion. BBC News Nepali quoted Bodh Bhandari, the Department of Railways' information officer, as saying the study put the cost at about 20 billion Chinese yuan, or roughly Rs 400 billion. The reports do not reconcile the two figures.
On flood risk, Nepal Khabar quoted an official as saying the report proposes a structure over the Lende river that could withstand a flood twice the size of the Bhadra flood on the Bhotekoshi. Bhandari told BBC News Nepali that the study's route was never along the riverbank, so the Bhadra disaster had not affected it much.
The report has not yet been formally handed to the Nepali government, and Department officials told BBC News Nepali that could take another month to a month and a half. Nepal Khabar quoted Nepali officials as saying the Chinese side would address Nepal's technical concerns and send the final report through diplomatic channels.
Nepal Khabar quoted a member of the Nepali delegation as saying China's main question was which network the line would join after Kathmandu, and another official as saying the Chinese side appeared to think that linking it south to India would make it more useful. BBC News Nepali quoted Arjun Jung Thapa of the National Planning Commission as saying the project is expensive but could recover its investment if tied to China-India trade, which would mean raising the matter with India as well. Department officials told the BBC that key decisions, including on investment and how the project is carried out, now rest with political leadership and talks between the two governments, and that they expect rail links to India to come up during Prime Minister Balendra Shah's proposed visit to India.
Janakpur-Ayodhya test run
Separately, an Indian special train made a test run, known as a dry run, from Jayanagar in Bihar to Kurtha station in Janakpurdham on November 5 (Kartik 19), Onlinekhabar reported. Dhanusha Assistant Chief District Officer Bhudev Jha said the train reached Janakpurdham at 11 am and that preparations are under way for the two countries' prime ministers to inaugurate the service jointly during Prime Minister Shah's visit to India. Indian railway officials from the East Central Railway, including Additional General Manager Amarendra Kumar, rode the train, and Nepali officials took part.
Paribesh Parajuli, managing director of the Nepal Railway Company, said the dry run was part of the preparations for inaugurating the service during the Prime Minister's visit, but that it is not yet final that the train will run: operations, maintenance and technical and administrative matters are still under discussion, and the way the service will be operated is not confirmed. Because Nepal's only existing rail service is the Janakpur-Jaynagar line, an Indian train would run on the new route for now, with the Nepali side managing arrangements on its own territory, he said.
Surendra Bhandari, president of the Janakpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Onlinekhabar that a direct rail link would help trade in Janakpurdham and, through visiting tourists, tourism elsewhere in the country. Janakpurdham is regarded as the birthplace of Sita and Ayodhya as the city of Lord Ram, and the service is expected to ease travel for pilgrims and religious tourists on the Ramayana Circuit. Bhandari said an air service between the two cities has been discussed several times but has not started.