KATHMANDU: The international railway between Kathmandu and Raxaul’s final location survey report has been prepared, according to India.
Along with this, the topic of constructing a new rail line to connect Kathmandu will be brought up during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s upcoming visit to India.
On the basis of the study report, which included the route, cost, and engineering, Nepal will reportedly propose to move forward with the construction of the railway during the Prime Minister’s visit to India, according to sources in the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.
The project will be advanced, according to officials, through efforts to solidly agree on the investment strategy and technology.
According to a ministry source, “the report prepared by India is ready to be handed over during the Prime Minister’s visit.”.
According to officials, India will be asked to advance the railway project during the visit, and if India is prepared, a high-level agreement can be reached. According to officials, the Indian government has given the issue of building a railway up to Kathmandu the utmost importance.
Since building the railway appears feasible, despite the fact that the route is somewhat complicated geographically, it has been stressed that some sort of agreement be reached in order to begin the building process.
On March 13, Nepal’s deputy prime minister, Narayankaji Shrestha, stated that after India completes the study, Nepal should receive the report within a month. At the time, he served as the Minister of Physical Infrastructure.
The final location survey for the Kathmandu-Raxaul railway was the subject of a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on October 22, 2078, between Nepal and India.
According to the Memorandum of Understanding, India, at its own expense, and through a government-owned company in India, prepared the detailed project report for the railway.
India sent a team to work in Nepal in accordance with the contract. This work was supposed to be finished in 18 months.
The preliminary engineering and traffic survey report for this railroad has already been given to Nepal by India. The proposed Raxaul-Kathmandu railway was estimated to be 136 km long in the preliminary KRCL report. This railway from Khokna through Nijgarh is proposed. A 40 km section of the proposed railway will have tunnels, and 35 small and large bridges will also need to be constructed, it was observed.
India has researched using broad gauge technology to build this railroad. The national railway system will be constructed in standard gauge, according to government policy. Although the experts recommended that the railway connecting India be built on standard gauge, India lacked the standard gauge technology and technical expertise, so the Raxol-Kathmandu railway line should be built on broad gauge technology, and the study was based on that.
The visit of the Prime Minister to India, according to officials, will aid in the signing of additional agreements for the development of an electric inland railway between India and India.