Konkan Railways has recently delivered two modern DEMU (Diesel – Electric Multiple Unit) train sets to Nepal Railways. On 10/05/2019, a contract agreement was signed between the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited and Nepal’s department of Railways for the supply of two 1600 HP DEMU train sets. These DEMU train sets have been designed as well as manufactured by Indian Railways’ Integral Coach Factory, located in Chennai. These DEMU 1600 HP trains will run between Jayanagar in India and Kurtha in Nepal. The Jayanagar – Kurtha Railway link that is 34 kilometres long, has been set up by IRCON under India – Nepal Development Partnership programme with finance granted by the Indian government.
According to officials quoted in a PTI report, these DEMU trains would start operations from mid-December, and with this, broad-gauge railway service will begin in the Himalayan nation. These two DEMU 1600 HP trains have been equipped with modern amenities as well as the latest propulsion technology. According to Nepal Railway Company Director General Guru Bhattarai, the trial run of the new trains started recently on the broad gauge railway tracks for which, the construction was completed last year. Senior Divisional Engineer Devendra Shah was quoted in the report saying that as the border is still unlikely to open soon due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the train services would not start now and they would be parked for the maintenance and safety at the Nepal Railway Station in Jaynagar.
According to the report, the rail line from Jaynagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Dhanusa district of Nepal was originally built during the British Raj in a bid to transport logs from forests at Mahottari, Nepal to India. During that period, the rail line from Jaynagar in Bihar to Bijulpura in Mahottari was 52 kilometres long. The 69 km long Jaynagar – Janakpur – Bardibas railway line is being developed at a cost of Rs 10 billion with support from the Government of India, the report added.