India Nepal ties, new cross border train

Prime Minister and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba recently jointly inaugurated cross-border passenger train services, RuPay payment system in Nepal and signed several MoUs. The leaders also held a delegation-level meeting at Hyderabad House in Delhi.

Key highlights

• Four documents and MoUs were signed and exchanged between India and Nepal to expand ties in areas such as railways and energy.
• The Prime Ministers also inaugurated Solu Corridor 132 KV power transmission lineand sub-station in Nepal built under the government of India's Line of Credit. Further, Nepal joined the International Solar Alliance.
• Prime Minister Modi and Nepal's PM Deuba also launched RuPay payment card in Nepal.
• The launch of the RuPay card in Nepal will add a new chapter to our financial connectivity: PM Narendra Modi issues joint statement with Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba.

New cross border train:

• PM Modi and Deuba also inaugurated cross-border rail network between Jaynagar in Bihar and Nepal's Kurtha.
• This is going to be Nepal’s first broad gauge passenger train service, all of which has been hand-held by India from the start.
• Part of the 73-km Jaynagar-Bardibas train service from Nepal side beyond Janakpur had to be stopped due to flooding of some railway bridges in 2001, while service from Janakpur to Jaynagar continued until March 2014 when India and Nepal decided to go for converting the entire narrow gauge link into broad gauge.
• The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is funding the network between Jaynagar in Bihar and Barbidas in Nepal at a cost of Rs 784 crore. The length of the Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas rail link is 68.72 km, of which a 2.975-km stretch is in India and a 65.745-km stretch is in Nepal.