Delhi: First broad gauge line train will start for Nepal, PM Modi will show green signal

New Delhi: The first passenger train service on the broad gauge line from India to Nepal is going to start on April 2. It will be flagged off by Prime Minister Modi. The 35-km line from Joynagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Nepal is going to be commissioned on April 2 with the operation of a five-coach DEMU train, the first broad gauge (BG) passenger service in the Himalayan country. But the first passenger train service will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of a high level Nepalese delegation including Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.

The train will pass through Janakpur in Nepal, which is believed to be the birthplace of Goddess Sita. With the operation of passenger service, people from far and wide are expected to visit the birthplace of Goddess Sita. Earlier the section had only one narrow gauge line which was converted into BG line by IRCON, a PSU of Indian Railways at an estimated cost of Rs 500 crore.

India has also provided two five-coach DEMU trains to Nepal at a cost of Rs 52 crore to run passenger service in this section. Presently Konkan Railway Corporation Limited has been entrusted with the maintenance of this train service.India has also decided to start a new passenger train for Bangladesh to further strengthen people-to-people contact through rail.

The new passenger train service – Mithali Express, is likely to run between Dhaka in India and New Jalpaiguri (NJP) in West Bengal to promote rail connectivity between the two neighbours.However, there are already two existing passenger train services between India and Bangladesh – the Kolkata-Dhaka-Kolkata Maitri Express and the Kolkata-Khulna-Kolkata Bandhan Express. At present, both these trains have been suspended for some time due to COVID pandemic restrictions.