Civil Insight: A Technical Magazine Volume 2 | Page 55

CIVIL INSIGHT 2018
STUDENTS’ SECTION
55
RAILWAY IN NEPAL: PROSPECTS AND
CHALLENGES
Drishtanta Poudel
Student
BE in Civil Engineering
(3 rd Year)
INTRODUCTION
Railway, a permanent track composed of a line of parallel metal rails fi xed to sleepers, is a pathway for transport
of passengers and goods in trains. It is one of the fastest and largest growing means of land transportation
all around the world, whereas our country is still lagging a single track record with the exception of Jaynagar-
Janakpur railway line. Railway can be used as a permanent mode of connectivity to international market. In
the aftermath of the Gorkha Earthquake 2015, it is felt as an essential part but, no doubt, a very diffi cult task
for a developing country like Nepal to think about constructing railways on our own expertise and expenditure.
HISTORY OF RAILWAY IN NEPAL
Railway was introduced to Nepal during the Rana regime; Chandra Shamsher started fi rst-ever railway in
1927 AD, which connected Raxaul to Amlekhgunj, 40 km. Following the introduction of new idea in fi eld
of transportation in 1936, new project came into operation connecting Janakpur-Jaynagar, about to operate
this year after the halt in 2014. This line was closed to convert its narrow gauge (2 ft. 6 in.) to broad gauge (5
ft. 6 in.). In 2004, a broad gauge line linking Kolkata-Sirsiya was operated as an Inland port. After that some
proposals were made in 2009 and 2010, but have failed somehow. In 2011, metro trains were proposed in
Kathmandu valley, and the feasibility studies were conducted; the declaration in Annual Budget was done as
well. Our neighbors, China and India,very recently have shown good gesture and commitment but still lag
the cost component and a thorough cost benefi t analysis to the economy, a basic fundamental of its overall
feasibility. As such, China and India have generously agreed the cross border railway connectivity and started
some preliminary feasibility study of railway network even though the basic issues of funding in both ways are
still unanswered.
VISION AND MISSION OF NEPAL RAILWAYS
The basic goal of Nepal is to construct a reliable and demanding railway service to connect Nepal to the
international market and bring the socio-economic development in every part of the country. This will certainly
help uplift the country in double time as transportation counts under major infrastructures for economic
development. Other intents include: proceeding with the construction, expansion and management of railway
network; providing sustainable and capable service connecting East-West and an important industrial and
tourist towns into national railway networks; connecting with railway service through possible borders of
India and China. Such undertakings provide the facility in international business including agriculture, natural
resource development further increasing the development of railway network. Undoubtedly, all these exercises
should be fi nancially and economically viable rather than an easy and popular political slogan to have a
sustainable end game.