India-Nepal Ties To Construct Railway Link Between Bihar & Kathmandu

India-Nepal Ties To Construct Railway Link Between Bihar & Kathmandu- Details, Features, Purpose, Background

India and Nepal have tied to construct strategic railway link between Raxaul in Bihar and Kathmandu in Nepal in order to strength people-to-people (P2P) contact and bulk movement of goods.

The announcement was made after delegation-level talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepalese Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli on 7th April 2018 in New Delhi.

India and Nepal’s new strategic railway link is believed to expand "connectivity" between the two neighbor countries and "enhance people-to-people linkages and promote economic growth and development".

As per the official statement, the new electrified rail line between the Bihar’s border city of Raxaul in India and Kathmandu in Nepal. The project will be financed by India’s support.

As per the official statement, this is the first step towards building railway connectivity. India in consultation with Nepal will complete preparatory survey work in 1 year.

India-Nepal will soon see three other railway projects in coming years which includes Nautanwa-Bhairahawa, New Jalpaiguri-Kakarbhitta and Nepalgunj Road-Nepalgunj.

Background

India and Nepal agreement seem significant as China & Nepal, in March 2016 agreed to construct a strategic railway link connecting two countries through Tibet to reduce Kathmandu's total dependence on India.

In 2016, China also signed a transit trade treaty with Nepal that completely depends on Indian sea-ports for third-country trade. Apart from this, China is also building three highways connecting Nepal and these roads are expected to be ready by 2020.