Nepal railway to operate within a month

The locals of a dozen villages in Dhanusha are happy with the news of upcoming train service from Kurtha of Dhanusha to Jayanagar of India. The locals of a dozen villages of different localities including Janakpurdham sub-metropolitan municipality, Aurahi village municipality and Janakandani village municipality of Dhanusha are overjoyed after their dream of boarding the train has finally come true.

Bishwolal Yadav of Aurahi-6, Dhanusha said that the locals who were disappointed with long delayed service are now happy with the recent news that the train will run in the next few days. "It has been a long time since the railway was constructed. We are worried that the train may be running only for a short time," he said. At first, he did not believe that the train would run, but he said that he was hopeful when he saw the train running.

Ramesh Mandal of Janakandani village of Dhanusha, who had given his valuable land to build the railway, also said that he was excited after the train started running. "I was disappointed that the train did not run for a long time, but I am happy to hear that it will be operating," said Mandal.

Two sets of trains were purchased from the Indian Company Corporation for Rs 846.5 million in September 2020.

According to the Nepal Railway Company, Prime Minister of Nepal Sher Bahadur Deuba and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi will jointly inaugurate the 35-kilometer train service from Jayanagar in India to Kurtha in Dhanusha. "We are preparing to operate Jayanagar-Kurtha train service from the third week of February 2022," said Niranjan Jha, general manager of Nepal Railway Company. After the joint inauguration of the railway service by the Prime Ministers of both the countries, the train will be operated regularly, said General Manager Jha.

"I can't say right now when the train will run," said General Manager Jha, "but we are preparing to run from the second or third week of February." He said that only a small number of employees have been appointed on the basis of minimum requirements and the appointed employees have been trained and mobilized.

"For the first 15 days after the inauguration of the train, we will run the train once a day," said General Manager Jha. He said that the fare from Jayanagar to Kurtha has been fixed at Rs 70 for ordinary seats and Rs 300 for AC seats.

Although preparations have been made to operate the train service, parts of the railway are being stolen, vegetable markets and shops are being set up in the railway illegally, and domestic animals are being left to graze.