India hands over 35km Jaynagar-Kurtha cross-border rail section to Nepal

In a key development, India on Friday handed over the 35 km long India-assisted cross-border rail link connecting Jaynagar in Bihar to Kurtha to Nepal railways company as the construction of the project which started months ago has been completed and will be functional soon. The Indian ambassador to Nepal handed over the Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas rail link to the Nepal Railways Company, which was built as a part of the Government of India's commitment to Nepal.

India hands over Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas rail linking to Nepal

The rail linking project was a part of the government of India’s NPR 8.77 billion commitment to Nepal. The linking project will pass through the historical city of Janakpur and will further boost people-to-people connectivity between India and Nepal.

Ambassador of India to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Renu Kumari Yadav were present on the occasion  The executing agency for the project, IRCON International Ltd, on behalf of the Government of India handed over the assets of the section to Nepal Railway Company Limited during the event.

The Indian government developed a segment that was previously a narrow gauge rail link between Jayanagar and Bijapur. The Jaynagar-Kurtha stretch, which contains the historically significant city of Janakpur, has a total of 8 stations and halts. The gauge conversion of a 34.9 km narrow gauge section from Jaynagar in India, to Kurtha in Nepal, has finally been completed with the help of a grant from the Indian government. The 34.9-kilometre Jaynagar-Kurtha stretch is part of the 68.72-kilometre Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas train link.

Once operational, it will be the first broad gauge cross-border rail link between India and Nepal, boosting trade and business as well as people-to-people connections between the two bordering nations. The cross-border rail links are an essential aspect of the India-Nepal development cooperation, with the Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas rail link and the Jogbani-Biratnagar (18.6 km) rail link, both of which are being built with grant support from the Indian government. This will help to increase the connectivity and trade relations between both nations.

Image: Twitter/ India in Nepal