# NEPAL | Railways



## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

This thread is about railways in Nepal


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## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

From Railway Gazette:



> http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/...i-electric-railway-construction-launched.html
> 
> *Mechi - Mahakali Electric Railway construction launched*
> 19 Jun 2014
> ...


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## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

Overcrowded train in Nepal, taken from Wikipedia:


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## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

Very crazy idea, I don't believe that it would happen. Would you?



> http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...unnel-under-mount-everest-state-media-reports
> 
> *China may build rail tunnel under Mount Everest, state media reports*
> Thursday 9 April 2015 06.56 BST
> ...


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## Turf (Mar 19, 2009)

Not directly under. But perhaps close to the existing road connection further east.


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## dimlys1994 (Dec 19, 2010)

Taken from China railways thread:



ccdk said:


> the rumoured tunnel under Mount Everest. You can identify the peaks according to the height marked on the picture


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## 00Zy99 (Mar 4, 2013)

What's the green line?


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## tjrgx (Oct 12, 2013)

*Nepali delegation sets out for China to discuss cross-border railway*

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-04/29/c_137145903.htm

KATHMANDU, April 29 (Xinhua) -- A high-level Nepali government delegation has left for China to discuss cross-border railway construction between the two countries, an official of Nepal' Department of Railway (DoR) said.

The delegation led by Secretary of Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Madhusudan Adhhikari left for China on Saturday and will discuss expanding Chinese railway to Nepal's capital Kathmandu through Chinese border town of Kerung, and Chinese cooperation in the areas of human resource development related to railway, Kiran Karki, engineer at the DoR, told Xinhua on Sunday.

The Nepali government delegation is visiting China after Nepal's Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali discussed cross-border railway development among others during his visit to China earlier this month.

The Nepali government has identified a cross-border railway project connecting Kerung and Kathmandu as one of the potential projects to be developed under the Belt and Road Initiative.


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## lunarwhite (Jun 18, 2014)

And, from the south, India recently agreed to build a railway to Kathmandu.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...ss-border-rail-links/articleshow/63657530.cms


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## Turf (Mar 19, 2009)

That would be an incredible achievement to build a railway through that terrain!


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## tjrgx (Oct 12, 2013)

*Nepali team in China to discuss rail from Kyirong to Kathmandu*

https://thehimalayantimes.com/busin...na-to-discuss-rail-from-kyirong-to-kathmandu/

A high-level delegation from Nepal is in China to hold discussions on Kathmandu-Kyirong railway project.


The seven-day visit by the Nepali team follows a similar visit by the high-level Chinese officials.

Madhusudan Adhikari, secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT), is leading a six-member team that left for China on Saturday. The other members of the high-level team include Ananta Acharya, director general of Department of Railways (DoRW); Prakash Bhakta Upadhyaya, senior divisional engineer and spokesperson of DoRW; two joint secretaries from MoPIT and one representative from Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

Before leaving for the trip, Adhikari informed that the team will hold talks on 75-kilometre-long Kathmandu-Kyirong railway project and hinted at the possibility of also discussing the processes for construction modality.

After the field study in November, the Chinese technical team led by Jhang Lee Yang, deputy administrator of National Railway Administration, had suggested that the project was technically feasible.

“The Chinese team had expressed their willingness to help construct the project after the study determined its feasibility,” said Adhikari.

Foreign Affairs Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, during his visit to the northern neighbour last week, had signed an agreement with the Chinese railways authorities to conduct the detailed feasibility study (DFS) utilising the Chinese support.

Adhikari also stated that the discussion will also include financial management and operation modality of the railway project.

Meanwhile, the Chinese railway authorities have already conducted pre-feasibility study of the Kathmandu-Kyirong railway project and they have estimated it would cost about Rs 69 billion to build the project.

“We have also done the necessary homework to discuss the financial and technical aspects of the project with the Chinese authorities during our visit,” Adhikari stated.

The planned railway network from China has currently reached Shigatse, the Tibetan autonomous region and it is expected to reach Kyirong by 2022. Kyirong is located at a distance of 540 kilometres from Shigatse.

Adhikari also said that the Nepali team would also explore the possibility of initiating the construction works of the railway from Nepal side so that it can be linked to the railway in Kyirong when the Chinese rail network reaches there. “We believe doing so would also be more cost-effective,” said Adhikari, adding that the ball is nevertheless in the court of China.

The Kathmandu-Kyirong railway will be linked to Nepal’s East-West railway network. The 945-km-long railway network has been divided into nine sections, with each section in different phases of being constructed. According to DoRW, among the nine sections, the detailed project report of Chormara of Nawalparasi to Butwal has already been prepared.

DoRW Spokesperson Upadhyaya said the railway project is no longer a pipe-dream as the country has now embarked on a stable path. Stating that the Chinese authorities had expressed worries related to unstable political scenario in the country, he further said the foreign affairs minister had inked the agreement last week to assuage the Chinese officials.


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## mingrady (May 3, 2007)

..


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## nachalnik (Nov 7, 2008)

https://www.railjournal.com/index.p...an-trans-himalayan-rail-link.html?channel=000

_
A memorandum of understanding on the construction of a rail link between Tibet and Nepal was signed in Beijing on June 21 by China’s president, Mr Xi Jinping, and Nepalese prime minister Mr Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli.

The link would be a continuation of the line between Tibet’s capital Lhasa and second city Xigaze, which was completed in 2014.

In 2015 Chinese officials said the line would be extended 540km from Xigaze to Gyirong, 35km from the Nepalese border, by 2020.

According to China’s deputy foreign minister, Mr Kong Xuanyou, the 150km Kyirong - Kathmandu section would be routed via the Rasuwagadhi border crossing. The line is expected to open by 2025.
_


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## Nexis (Aug 7, 2007)

Any recent photos of the Mechi - Mahakali Electric Railway?


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## tjrgx (Oct 12, 2013)

*Nepal, China agree on rail study*

http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2018-08-24/nepal-china-agree-on-rail-study.html

Aug 24, 2018-Nepal and China have agreed on the technical details of the Kathmandu-Kerung railway line, and will soon begin the process of preparing a detailed report for what has been touted as one of the most challenging projects, even for the northern neighbour that has mastered advanced railway engineering.

Government officials who returned to Kathmandu after a week-long visit to the Chinese north-central city of Xi’an told the Post that the two sides have reached a mutual agreement over the technical study conducted by China Railway First Survey and Design Institute.

“The governments of Nepal and China have given a green light following the outcome of the technical study,” Department of Railways (DoR) Director General Ananta Acharya told the Post.

Acharya said a team from the Chinese side would visit Nepal before November this year for further discussions, during which both sides are expected to reach an agreement on preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the multi-billion rail project.

Before that, the Nepali team in Xi’an, led by the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Secretary Madhusudhan Adhikari, will update government officials and the line ministry about the findings of the report. The proposal from the Chinese side will then be taken to the top political leadership, including Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

Because the governments of both countries have agreed on the technical aspects of the project, officials said the process for the development of DPR would be expedited.

“It will take around one and a half year to complete DPR,” Acharya said, adding that the report will provide a detailed account of the construction plan as well as the project cost.

Preliminary study suggests the cross-border project is estimated to cost Rs257 billion. It will take around nine years for the project to complete.

There has been one change in the construction plan for the project. The railway station in Kathmandu, which was previously supposed to be built in Manamaiju, has been altered according to the officials involved in the technical assessment. The Chinese side, based on the technical study, has recommended that the railway station in Kathmandu should be situated in Sankhu, which would shorten the total distance of the railway line. Officials say the new station area is also expected to be more feasible for the development of a railway platform.

According to a senior official at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Management, the railway line from Kerung will pass through the Langtang region bordering the Chinese territory, into Tibet and then Melamchi before terminating at Sankhu in Kathmandu. The total of the railway line inside the Nepali territory is expected to measure about 72.25km, the official said.

A copy of the technical report obtained by the Post last week states that the railway line will need construction of ramps along the northern slopes leading to Lake Paiku, near Kerung, to connect the tracks to the Kathmandu section.

The goals of the ramps would be to overcome the huge difference in elevation between the southern and northern toes of the Himalayan mountains.

Because of the severe topographical issues of the proposed line, the speed of rail connecting Nepal with China will be set at less than 100km per hour. The railway track will be initially used for hauling cargo and will be gradually upgraded into a passenger transit system.

Because at least 98.5 percent of the rail will be within either a tunnel or a bridge, the passenger rail will be oxygenated. There will be four stations planned along the railway line.

Nepali authorities who returned from Xi’an say that factors like high gradient, steep-slope, complex geographical terrain, and seismic vulnerability at numerous locations demand frequent drilling in several parts of the rail route during the construction phase.

Though the government team refused to disclose details on financial modality and project financing, a senior Transport Ministry official told the Post that the Chinese side has hinted that it would extend loan support for financing the project. The Nepali side, however, is rooting for a grant or partial grant agreement.

But technical experts with the knowledge of the project say that Nepali government does not need any monetary assistance to fund the project.


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## cheehg (Jan 5, 2018)

Nepal can play with both Chinese and Indian to push them to be the first one to build the line to Kathmandu.


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## UztoUS (Nov 13, 2018)

Himalayan nation Nepal gets first modern train tracks

The competition between two Asian giants, India and China, for influence over tiny Nepal is yielding a bonanza in the form of the Himalayan mountain nation's first modern railway — and possibly more to come.

New shiny rails connecting the 34 kilometers (21 miles) between Janakpur in southeastern Nepal and Jay Nagar in the Indian state of Bihar are raising hopes for more business and pilgrimages.

The railway is India's latest bid to keep its foothold in South Asia, a traditional sphere of influence, as China spends billions on its massive Belt and Road Initiative, an infrastructure project that aims to expand trade across a vast arc of 65 countries from the South Pacific to Africa and Europe.

Biswombar Sah, a 62-year-old farmer, is among hundreds of people in Janakpur visiting the still-under-construction rail station daily to check on its progress as workers polish the marble floors, lay tiles on the platform and paint local art on the walls of the waiting room.

"These train tracks are the best thing to happen to us in a very long time. We are all thrilled about getting a modern train that will make travel so much easier and cheaper," Sah said.

Once the new $80 million rail line begins operations, plans call for extending the railway deeper into Nepal.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

March 5, 2019
*Nepal to use Chinese gauge for its railway, not the one India uses*
_Excerpt_

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal has chosen a railway-track gauge used by China for its network and not the main one India uses citing lower costs, a minister said on Tuesday, a setback for India as it tries to limit Chinese involvement in the Himalayan country.

Last year, India proposed laying a broad-gauge (1,676 mm) rail link from its border town of Raxaul to the Nepali capital of Kathmandu, spurred by China’s plans to extend its standard gauge, or 1,435 mm measure, line from Tibet to the city.

Nepal says the Chinese railway link will eventually be extended to the western tourist city of Pokhara and to Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, near the border with India on the southern plains.

Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Raghubir Mahaseth told Reuters in an interview the government will ask India to use the standard gauge on the line it is building.

More : https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-railway-not-the-one-india-uses-idUSKCN1QM16Y


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## Shenkey (Mar 19, 2009)

Big, but it really only makes sense to build standard gauge railways.


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## mingrady (May 3, 2007)

Shenkey said:


> Big, but it really only makes sense to build standard gauge railways.


Exactly. Nepal decided to use standard gauge, not "Chinese gauge".


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## Ghostpoet (Nov 29, 2016)

mingrady said:


> Exactly. Nepal decided to use standard gauge, not "Chinese gauge".



'Chinese gauge'????


Ghostpoet


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## MF-01 (Jan 21, 2018)

But China uses UIC standard gauge for its mainline and HSL network so why call it "chinese gauge" lol ? There's metre gauge and 750 mm too but in a very small proportion so it's standard gauge


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## cheehg (Jan 5, 2018)

I guess because they are talking about India gauge and Chinese gauge. The decision is they think it is more important to connect with China and from there to Europe.


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## Turf (Mar 19, 2009)

Bit strange. China may be close but major populations are very very far away.
India is quite close with major population centres and has the closest sea connection.
I would have expected Indian up to Kathmandu and there switch to 'Chinese'.
Making Kathmandu a major logistical hub.

Now what does make sense for doing chinese all the way is there is a lot more room for a logistics hub in the south of Nepal instead of in Kathmandu valley. Also Chinese are able to build rail on a industrial scale, also in mountains, lowering costs for himalaya building. 
And talking about cost: the Chinese probably financed better (my guess).


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## cheehg (Jan 5, 2018)

Turf said:


> Bit strange. China may be close but major populations are very very far away.
> India is quite close with major population centres and has the closest sea connection.
> I would have expected Indian up to Kathmandu and there switch to 'Chinese'.
> Making Kathmandu a major logistical hub.
> ...


agree with you. The south railway should be built with India gauge.


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## tjrgx (Oct 12, 2013)

*Which way will the Tibet-Nepal railway go?*

https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/which-way-will-the-tibet-nepal-railway-go/










Till not too long ago, a trans-Himalayan railway sounded like science fiction. Now, with the proposed 100km long tunnel under Langtang National park, it sounds even more futuristic.

The rapid strides China has taken in extending its national railway network makes drilling under the world’s highest mountains seem no longer technically impossible, but is it economically viable?

A pre-feasibility study of a railway into Nepal from Tibet carried out by a Chinese team in 2018 suggests that it would be an engineering feat and very expensive, but not an impossible task.

“Technically this will be one of the world’s toughest railways to construct,” says Paribesh Parajuli, the only train engineer at Nepal’s Department of Railways, who was educated in China and is a consultant for the study. 

Despite Nepali politicians making wild promises about the imminent arrival of a Tibet train and ensuing public anticipation, because of the technical and cost factors the Chinese have sought to dampen some of the enthusiasm.

The feasibility study has not yet been made public, but is said to list ‘six extremes’ that will be challenging: topography, weather, hydrology, tectonics, and cost.

And despite speculation that the railway alignment will follow the Bhote Kosi River across the Himalaya to Nuwakot, the study actually lays out a much more adventurous course under Langtang National Park, below Gosainkunda and Shivapuri National Park to enter Kathmandu Valley at Tokha. Stations will be located at bridge points where the tunnels emerge at Langtang Khola and Pati Bhanjyang.

The gradient required to descend from 4,000m on the Tibetan Plateau to 1,400m above Kathmandu is so steep that engineers have proposed drilling through the mountains with 98% of the tracks on the Nepal side inside tunnels.

Says Parajuli: “If the railroad follows the proposed tunnel route under the mountains, the towns along the existing highway to Rasuwa will not even be seeing trains.” 

Although drilling under the mountains will minimise environmental impact in two national parks, the tunnels will traverse the Main Central Thrust faultline of the Himalaya. Mitigating earthquake risk will push the total cost even higher than a normal tunnel project.

Preliminary estimates put the cost of just the 170km Kerung to Kathmandu section of the railway at 38 billion yuan ($5.5 billion). Even though only 30% of the length from Menbu to Kathmandu is in Nepal, it will account for almost half the cost of the project because of the required tunneling.

Despite these challenges, Nepal’s railway dream moved closer to reality after the project was listed as one of the 64 to be considered under China’s BRI during the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in April.

Nepal is now seeking a grant from China to construct the railway, but Beijing is reticent, hence recent comments by Chinese Ambassador Hou Yanqi urging Nepalis not to jump the gun.

The Nepal government has not allocated any money for the Tibet railway in this year’s budget. But officials at Nepal’s Infrastructure and Transport ministry say just a detailed engineering study for the Kerung-Kathmandu section of the railway will cost an estimated five times the Nepal’s total railway budget for next year.

Even so, Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada seems upbeat. He has even announced the date of the start of construction: “We will complete the detailed project report and feasibility study and start construction work on the Kerung-Kathmandu railway in the next two years.”

The Chinese do not seem to be in such a rush. The Qinghai-Tibet railway reached Xigatse in Tibet in 2014. At the pace of construction, it was scheduled to arrive on the border in Kerung by 2020, but the Chinese have reportedly pushed that back to 2025.

Both the Chinese and Nepal governments have denied that loan financing for the project will push Nepal into a debt trap, as the Americans have been warning.

“The main thing is how projects are selected, whether that is done on the possible rate of return, and the pay back plan,” says Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali.

While the minister could not answer questions about what Nepal would export to China by train, Prime Minister K P Oli once speculated it could be mineral water, for which he was widely ridiculed. Mineral water is already a multi-billion dollar industry in Tibet, so it would be like coals to Newcastle.

Economic analysts say the railway makes sense only if Nepal can fill the wagons with its goods for the return trip. While imports from China increased by about 40% in 2018, exports from Nepal to China fell by 30%, with the country’s trade deficit reaching about US$12 billion last year – equal to nearly half of the country’s total GDP.

Ambassador Hou has tried to allay fears. “The BRI is not a ‘debt trap’ that some countries may fall into, but an ‘economic pie’ that benefits the local population,” she wrote in a recent opinion piece in the Nagarik newspaper. 

The real question is not just who will pay for the railway, but also whether it will pay for itself. The tunnel alignment will push up costs, and because it misses all major urban areas along the way like Trisuli and Syabrubesi, it is unlikely to benefit local populations. 

On the Nepal side, there are zero preparations in place for the Tibet railroad, but even the proposed east-west Tarai railway does not seem to be going anywhere. In the decade since it was set up, Nepal’s Department of Railways has yet to hire a fulltime railway engineer.

The new 34km railway from Bihar to Nepal is supposed to start operations next month with a hired train and driver from India. But you cannot fault Nepal for dreaming big: the government plans to construct 4,000km of railways in the next two decades.


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## lunarwhite (Jun 18, 2014)

RAILWAY WAR!!

India has responded to China's plan to build a line from Tibet to Kathmandu and Nepal's plan to use standard gauge throughout the country. India has announced a plan to build 5 broad gauge lines into Nepal (including one to Kathmandu) and India will pay for them.

Nepal is playing this well.

Here is the article.

https://www.tribuneindia.com/mobi/n...out-in-nepal-railway-gauge-battle/809816.html


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## Poorna90 (Mar 3, 2018)

*Latest DMU Train for Nepal Railways*






This is the latest train for Nepal Railways. It is manufacturing by ICF Chennai in India. This is the exact model of Class S13 in Sri Lanka Railways made by the same company.


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## shaikh altamash (Jan 22, 2014)




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## tjrgx (Oct 12, 2013)

China, Nepal agree on building a trans-Himalayan network


China and Nepal have agreed to build the so-called Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network, the Chinese foreign ministry said, following a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries.




www.reuters.com




BEIJING, Aug 11 (Reuters) - China and Nepal have agreed to build the so-called Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network, the Chinese foreign ministry said, following a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries.

As part of the agreement, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China would finance the feasibility study of a China-Nepal cross-border railway and send experts to Nepal to conduct surveys this year, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson at the foreign ministry, told a regular media briefing in Beijing on Thursday.


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