Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal Railways Company is preparing to extend the Nepal-India cross-border train service to Bijalpura of Mahottari from July 16.
The cross-border service, which commenced in March 2022, has been operating up to Kurtha thus far. The distance between Jayanagar and Kurtha is 35 kilometers.
Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Prakash Jwala, is scheduled to inaugurate the train service on the Kurtha-Bijalpura section during a ceremony on Sunday.
According to Nepal Railways, the train will operate once a day on the Kurtha-Bijalpura section.
Icron International Company Ltd, an entity under India’s Ministry of Railways, has successfully laid railway tracks on the 17-kilometer Kurtha-Bijalpura section. The track will be further expanded up to Baridbas of Mahottari where it will intersect with Nepal’s proposed East-West Railway line. However, the progress on the 18-kilometer Bijalpura-Bardibas section has faced delays due to issues related to land acquisition.
The Kurtha-Bijalpura track was handed over to Nepal Railway by Icron International on June 1 during the visit of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to India.
Nepal and India signed an agreement to construct the Jayanagar-Bardibas railway track in 2010.
