Corona affected Janakpur-Jayanagar railway

DHANUSHA: FRIDAY, MAY 14, 2021 – The Janakpur-Jayanagar train service will be affected due to the Corona. General Manager of Nepal Railway Company, Guruprasad Bhattarai, said that the train operation was postponed immediately as the Nepal Railway Company was preparing to operate within the month of Baisakh. Recently, an ordinance has been issued to make arrangements for the operation of railways.

The Indians had trained the Nepali employees to operate the railway for ten days. The Indian workers have returned home immediately due to Corona’s growing havoc and prohibitory order. General Manager Bhattarai said, “This time we were in the final preparations for the operation of the railway, but time betrayed us.” He said the train would be operational once the situation returned to normal.

The Government of Nepal had brought two trains from India on 7 Ashoj 2077. Even though the train was brought to Janakpurdham on a trial basis on the day of its arrival, both the trains have been kept covered by Tripal at the Khajuri station in Dhanusha for the past seven months.

Nepal has purchased two trains from the Indian company Konkan Railway Corporation for Rs 850 million. The train, which has red, blue and white colors of Nepal’s national flag, has the capacity to carry 1,200 to 1,300 passengers at a time in six coaches. Earlier, a train with a coal engine used to run in Nepal, which has been closed for seven years. The train now has diesel electrified multiple unit technology (DEMU).

The company has appointed hundreds of employees in various positions to run the train. In the first phase, a 34-kilometer train will be operated from Jaya Nagar to Kurtha in Nepal, said General Manager Bhattarai. He informed that the remaining 17 km from Kurtha to Bijalpura will be operational within the current fiscal year. Three halts and five stations have been constructed to run the railway from Jayanagar to Kurtha in India.

The government had paved the way for the recruitment of skilled manpower required to operate the train. Accordingly, in-principle approval has been given to appoint the required skilled manpower in the contract. According to the railway company, 226 posts are required for 45 different posts. Nepal has the experience of running only ‘narrow gauge’ trains running on coal.

As Nepal does not have experience in the current broad gauge train, it is said that the train will be operated by Indian technical staff. In the first phase, the government plans to run the train from Janakpur to Bijalpura in Mahottari. The government has announced to bring the train coming from Jayanagar to Nijgadh by connecting it with the east-west railway in Bardibas within four years. – RSS