The construction of the Kathmandu-Raxaul railway will cost Rs 400 billion. The final location survey report submitted by India to Nepal has shown that it will cost more than Rs 400 billion except for land compensation.
Among the various works of the project, it is mentioned in the report that 388 billion rupees will be spent only on the physical infrastructure and the remaining amount will be spent on mechanical, IT, administrative, etc.
“In Kathmandu-Raxaul railway construction, the cost of physical infrastructure is the highest,” said Rohit Kumar Bisural, director general of the railway department, “It is estimated that 243 billion Indian rupees are required for the infrastructure development.”
In the initial report, it was estimated that the railway would be constructed at a cost of Rs 315 billion. Following the final survey, the cost has increased by 100 billion rupees.
India has already submitted the survey report to the Government of Nepal. The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has sent a ‘soft copy’ to the Railway Department.
During Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s visit to India (May 17-21), Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra gave the information that the final survey report of Raxaul-Kathmandu railway was handed over to Nepal. After about a month, the report came to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.
This will be a 141 km long railway
An electric train will be operated on Kathmandu-Raxaul railway broad gauge. Although most of the countries in the world will build railways in standard gauge, India has said that it will be done in broad gauge. Generally, the track distance of the broad gauge is 5 feet 6 inches while the leak distance of standard gauge is 4 feet 8 and a half inches.
It makes a difference to the speed of the train. In a standard gauge, the speed of the train can be up to 350 kmph, while in broad gauge, the maximum speed is only 160 kmph.
The railway will start from Raxaul and pass through Nijgadh to Khokna station in Lalitpur. The railway will be constructed through Raxaul, Birgunj, Manaharwa, Sapahar Bazaar, Nijgadh, Dhiyal, Shikharpur, Sisneri, Satikhel to Khokana (Kathmandu) in Nepal. There will be a dozen stations on this route.
“The report shows that a railway of 140.79 kilometers should be built,” Director General Bisural said, “A double track railway will be built, in which a track has to be put to make a total of 243 km.
Out of the total railway track, 42 km distance will have to be constructed through tunnels and 124 big bridges will have to be constructed, the report says.
According to the Railway Department, the final location survey is a detailed study report like DPR.
Tweleve trains can operate daily
In 2019, an Indian company conducted a feasibility study of railway operations based on Pathlaiya. According to the study, 11,000 passengers and transport vehicles could travel to and from Kathmandu from Birganj and Kathmandu from the east.
The railway will operate two-tier trains, passenger and cargo. Based on the survey of 2019, it seems possible to operate 12 trains for passenger and transport.
“The study has shown that six passenger and six cargo trains can be operated daily,” he said, “six-passenger railways, two express (fast) and four ordinary trains can be operated.”
The speed of the train will be up to 160 km per hour. Now it is proposed to run the train at a speed of 120 km per hour.
To be profitable after 25 years
The study showed that 1,478 hectares of land would be required for a railway connecting Kathmandu directly with India. It is seen that the forest area is the most affected.
A total of 740 hectares are in railway forest area and 580 hectares are in private land. As many as 149 hectares of land belonging to the railway sector belong to the government.
According to the department, the cost studied by the Indian company is the amount excluding the distribution of compensation.
“The 260 billion Indian rupees is the land price without compensation,” he said. That should be studied by the government of Nepal.
The report states that construction can be completed in 5 years after site clearance and all costs recovered in 25 years.
Since the final survey location report has determined the area where the railway will be built, the government of Nepal can assess the environmental impact.
Now the modality of investment needs to be finalized
In 2075 BS, then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed a pre-feasibility study agreement. After the pre-feasibility study, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Nepal and India on October 8, 2021.
Engineers from the Konkan Railway Corporation of India conducted the final survey. The entire cost of the survey has been borne by India in the form of grant.
Bisural, the director general of the department, said that after the survey report was made, the official route was determined and the basis for the construction of the railway was laid.
“The official details of how long the Kathmandu-Raxaul railway will be and where to operate will be in the report,” he said, ‘Now the Nepal government should discuss with India and finalize the modality of the railway construction.’
He said that since the Nepal government cannot start the construction of such a big project on its own, the help of the Indian government is a must to build it.
