Kathmandu: The fourth India-Nepal Joint Working Group meeting on Railway Cooperation was held on Friday via video-conferencing to review the cross border rail link projects.
According to an official release, both the countries discussed the technical preparedness of the completed 34 km long section of the railway line between Jayanagar in India and Kurtha in Nepal for the purpose of running passenger train services.
“The JWG reviewed the cross border rail link projects that are between Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas and Jogbani-Biratnagar under advance implementation. Both sides discussed the technical preparedness of the completed 34 km long section of the railway line between Jaynagar in India and Kurtha in Nepal for the purpose of running passenger train services, including the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) that need to be put in place for resumption of passenger train services by Nepal Railway Company (NRC),” the release stated.
India and Nepal also discussed the mutual facilitation and coordination required for completion of the work on the remaining sections from Kurtha to Bilajpura, currently under construction by the Government of India at a cost of NRs 3,200 million.
Both sides further agreed to expedite the work for completion of the other ongoing cross-border railway project between Jogbani in India and Biratnagar in Nepal under a grant assistance of NRs 5,884 million.
The JWG Co-Chairs gave a nod to extend cooperation in the railway sector, including in the capacity building and training of Nepali railway personnel in India and in Nepal as per the requirements of Nepal.
Moreover, India and Nepal will remain engaged closely to strengthen cooperation in the railway sector.
The Indian side was led by Dr Manoj Singh, Executive Director (Traffic Transportation-F), Ministry of Railways, Government of India, while the Nepali side was led by Er Gopal Prasad Sigdel, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport of Government of Nepal.
