Nepal-Janakpur Railway
The ‘Nepal-Janakpur Railway’, otherwise known as the Janakpur Railway and the Jaynagar-Janakpur Railway was reportedly opened 1937. The line was a 2ft 6in/762mm narrow gauge(NG) railway constructed by the British in 1937. The 28-mile-long (45 km) track was built to carry timber from the then heavily forested areas of Janakpur in Kingdom of Nepal to Jaynagar in British India. The railway was later extended from Janakpur to Bijalpura, a further 13 miles(21km) and became known as the Jayanagar-Janakpur-Bijalpura Railway[1]
An alternative account gives the date of opening as 1928 with the following comment
The line connects Jaynagar (India) to Janakpur Nepal), a distance of 32km, an important Nepalese pilgrimage site, about 100 km south-east of Kathmandu. From Janakpur the line continues to Bijalpura.
[2].
At Jaynagar there was an interchange with the metre gauge(MG) ‘Jaynagar Branch’ of the ‘Bengal and North-Western Railway’ (B&NWR).
Background and Early History
Although the Janakpur to Jaynagar railway primarily transports people, it was not always so. The rail line was constructed in the 1930s during Rana period by Juddha Shamsher Rana “to facilitate the logging operations on his extensive forest holdings north of Janakpur”. Ranas lived in Kathmandu but claimed vast tracts of land in Tarai. “During the period when the Rana prime ministers held sway in Kathmandu, tarai lands were liberally distributed to family members and loyal retainers. The income from these lands accumulated into fortunes for these land-grant holders.”[3].
Present Situation
The operating company "Transport Corporation of Nepal - Janakpur Railway" was renamed to "Nepal Railways Corporation Ltd." in 2004, but is still a state-owned enterprise.
After a washout of the railway embankment and two bridges the track between Janakpur and Bijalpura (22 km railway line) was closed in 2001. The remaining Janakpur–Jaynagar railway track was converted to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge in 2018 and the extension to Bardibas is under construction [1].
External Links
- In 2015, BBC made a three-part documentary series called “India’s Frontier Railways”. Each series covers India’s trains crossing borders in either Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. The documentary shows how families, cultures and history are connected across the border through railway lines. The documentary about Nepal is titled, “The Last Train in Nepal” and is highly recommended. YouTube BBC “India’s Frontier Railways”. “The Last Train in Nepal
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wikipedia "Nepal Railways"; Retrieved 1 Jun 2019
- ↑ "Janakpur Railway" by Michael Muir; Retrieved 1 Jun 2019
- ↑ ‘History of Janakpur to Jaynagar Railway’, posted May 31, 2017; Retrieved 3 Jul 2020