NEW DELHI, Oct 8 (NNN-PTI) – India and Nepal yesterday signed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), for the start of passenger train services on the Jaynagar-Kurtha section, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Final Location Survey (FLS) of the proposed broad gauge railway line, between Raxaul and Kathmandu.
The two neighbouring countries held the 5th Joint Working Group (JWG) and the 7th Project Steering Committee (PSC) meetings, on Oct 6-7, in New Delhi. The two sides reviewed implementation of ongoing cross-border railway links and overall bilateral cooperation in the railway sector., said the Ministry of External Affairs.
The SOPs provide technical aspects of running passenger trains on the new section and will serve as a guiding document for early start of rail services, in the upcoming cross-border railway links with Nepal, said the ministry’s statement.
It further stated that the proposed Raxaul-Kathmandu broad gauge railway line will further boost connectivity between the two countries.
Besides, both sides discussed the ongoing works of Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas and Jogbani-Biratnagar broad gauge railway lines, being developed with grant assistance from the Government of India.
The technical preparedness of the completed 34 km-long section of the railway line, from Jaynagar (India) to Kurtha (Nepal) for operationalisation of passenger train services was also reviewed.– NNN-PTI
