Rail Connectivity between India and Nepal is likely to be a reality soon.
Konkan Railway did a preliminary engineering cum traffic survey for Indian Railways assaying the project cost at Rs 16,550 crore.
The survey estimated the rail distance between Raxaul in Bihar and Kathmandu at 136 kilometres [Presently, the distance between these two places is between 145 and 150 km by road].
This follows the MOU signed by India and Nepal on August 31, 2018 which had envisaged a survey for laying the Raxaul-Kathmandu rail line.
The project has been planned in a manner so as to protect eco-sensitive zones such as reserve forests, protected areas and national parks.
The project is likely to further strengthen Indo-Nepal cultural and trade ties.
Alignment
The proposed alignment will have 13 stations- Raxaul, Birganj, Bagahi, Pipra, Dhumarwana, Kakdi, Nijgarh, Chandrapur, Dhiyal, Shikharpur, Sisneri, Sathikel and Kathmandu.
The alignment will have 32 road-over-bridges, 53 underpasses,259 minor brdges, and 41 major bridges. In addition, the section will have 39 tunnels of total length 41.87 km.
