Himal Press 
JANAKPURDHAM: Train service between Jayanagar of India and Kurtha of Dhanusha has now been extended up to Bijalpura of Mahottari.
Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Prakash Jwala, inaugurated the regular train service on the newly extended 17-kilometer track between Kurtha and Bijalpura on Sunday. Previously, the Nepal-India cross-border service only operated on Jayanagar-Janakpurdham-Kurtha (35 km) section only.
Niranjan Jha, General Manager of Nepal Railways, stated that the railway service has been extended to Bijalpura after India handed over the 17-km Kurtha-Bijalpura track to Nepal. The track was officially handed over to Nepal during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s visit to India on June 1.
The cross-border service is Nepal’s only passenger railway service.he Kurtha-Bijalpura section.
Icron International Company Ltd, an entity under India’s Ministry of Railways, 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 Bijalpura-Bardibas (18 km) section has faced delays due to issues related to land acquisition.
Nepal and India signed an agreement to construct the Jayanagar-Bardibas railway track in 2010.
