01 September, 2024
Railway Development in Nepal
The development of railways has been one of the most discussed development issues in recent years. Railway development has been at the forefront of our current Prime Minister’s development agenda. Railways has been a critical political agenda for all the major political parties as reflected in their election manifestos. The post-election governments at the federal, state, and local levels have fabricated plans to develop and operate a railway system. There have been wide discussions on the development modalities of railways which depicts that the elected representatives are bound and determined on the issue. This is a step towards the right direction for development of railways in Nepal
Nepal’s railway story began in 1927 with a 39 km (about 24.23 mi) railway system from Raxaul to Amlekhganj. Sadly, the service could not be continued for long. After nine long decades, the issue of railway development in Nepal has come to the forefront of our development agenda. JanakpurJaynagar railway service has recently resumed operations. Cargo rail from India up to Birgunj Dryport is operational. Biratnagar has been linked with the railway system. Both our neighbours, India and China have well- developed railway networks. China has the second largest railway network in the world with more than 150,000 km and India has the fourth largest network with more than 68,000 km network. It is high time for Nepal to develop the railway networks and connect with her neighbouring countries to improve national as well as international trade.
Transportation is said to be the mother infrastructure that forms the basis for the development of all other infrastructures. One of the criteria for measuring the prosperity of any country is the development of transport infrastructure. Nepal has already constructed 100,000 kms road network out of which more than two-third of the roads are built by local level government without following due engineering standards. Therefore, the existing roads are degrading and cannot fuel the growth and development of a prosperous Nepal. Railways can be a viable option to develop a robust transport infrastructure, which in turn can contribute to economic growth and development. The discovery of the steam engine in England in the 18th century led to rapid industrialisation and growth of the United Kingdom. The presence of large railway networks in our neighbouring countries have helped them achieve rapid growth. Nepal too can embark on the path of growth and development by proper planning and development of a railway network. Nepal has already initiated the development of railways in the past. In the year 2009, the government conducted feasibility study of East-West (945 km) rail and has already started the construction of the sectionBardibas to Lalbandi. The beginning of construction of this East-West railway system in Nepal has to develop railway service. In a bid to develop railway systems in Nepal, the department of railways was established in 2011. The signing of the China led 'Road and Belt Initiative' in 2017 has provided a good opportunity to Nepal to link itself with international rail networks.
For the promotion of international trade and tourism, railway connection with China and India must be our top priority. To make the EastWest railway line feasible, it should be linked to Kathmandu. The capital city has a dense population. Other important railway networks that Nepal require are Kerung-Kathmandu and KathmanduRaxaul. Raxaul to Kathmandu route will be around 140 km and Kathmandu to Kerung will be around 150 km. China will be completing the construction of 540 km railway line from Sigatse to Kerung by 2025. Raswagadhi is only 24 km from Kerung.
The private sectors are not attracted to invest in the development of railways because such projects are capital intensive and possess high risks of development. And so, the government must take the lead and arrange the funds for the development through its own treasury or concessional loans from multilateral and bilateral organisations to finance railway projects. Furthermore, construction of railways in the hilly terrain can be very costly. The construction of a double track railway system from the East to the West will cost around NPR one billion per kilometre. This cost can increase drastically when railway lines are constructed in the hilly and mountainous terrains.
How long will it take to develop railway system in Nepal?
Taking the Kerung-Kathmandu railway as an example, if we start development work immediately, it takes around two years to hire a consultant with expertise and to conduct a feasibility study. A further one year will be needed by the concerned authorities to choose the best development modality and prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR). Selection of a construction contractor will take another one year and if all goes well, the actual construction will begin only after four years, and it will take another four to five years for the construction depending upon the length of the network. It should be clear that for such rail projects Public Private Partnerships (PPP) is not suitable.
The way forward
Different studies have shown that logistic costs can be reduced by 30 percent if goods are transported by rail as compared to roadways. Therefore, Nepal should work on developing railway systems. Expanding the railway service is widely needed throughout the country. Primarily, Nepal needs to immediately work on developing East-West Railway Service, Kerung-Kathmandu, and Kathmandu Raxaul railway. Development of railways will stimulate economic development by creating a suitable environment for national and international trade. To develop such a huge infrastructure project, government must enact a separate railway act and should have strong authority to carry out all the project related work. If one railway project is developed in the country, it will help to build expertise and experience on other railway development projects.
Note: This article is from Nepal Infrastructure Summit 2024 by Mr.Ashish Gajurel.