The East-West Railway Line () or the Mechi-Mahakali Railway is an upcoming

Trans–Asian railway The Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) is a project to create an integrated freight railway network across Europe and Asia. The project is of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). The project was initiated i ...

project in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. The railway will be the longest in Nepal, stretching expanding from the Eastern Indo-Nepal border of

Kakarbhitta Kakarbhitta (often written and pronounced Kakadbhitta or Kakarvitta) is a neighbourhood in Mechinagar Municipality in Jhapa District of Province No. 1, southeastern Nepal. Demographics At the time of the 1991 Nepal census, Mechinagar had a popu ...

to the Western Indo-Nepal border of Kanchanpur. Subsidiary lines will be added expanding the total project to .

History

The government developed the concept of the East-West Railway in 2007, forming the Department of Railways in 2011. The project started in 2008, but due to various economic, environmental and coordination challenges it was delayed until March 2020.

Features

The network is expected to grow to 4,000 km within 20 years. This railway line is important for Nepal because it has long been dependent on India for its connection with the world through the

Port of Kolkata The Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SPMP or SMP, Kolkata), formerly the Kolkata Port, is the only riverine major port in India, in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, around from the sea. It is the oldest operating port in India and was construc ...

and Vizag Port.

Controversies

Lack of coordination of inter-governmental bodies and conflicts between the locals and the

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

company for land acquisition and deforestation stimulated controversy. The proposed route passes through

Chitwan National Park Chitwan National Park is the first national park of Nepal. It was established in 1973 as the Royal Chitwan National Park and was granted the status of a World Heritage Site in 1984. It covers an area of in the Terai of south-central Nepal. It ra ...

, a

World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

site. The route was widely criticized and the proposal was rejected by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. It also was criticized for threatening rare wildlife.

Progress

More than Rs2 billion was spent for land acquisition and research and development, which will cost some Rs8 billion. The total cost is estimated to reach $3 billion. The initial track-bed has been laid across the 70 km Bardibas-Nijgadh section. The senior divisional engineer at the Department of Railways, Aman Chitrakar informed that the tracks will be laid after the construction of the track-bed from Kakadbhitta,

Jhapa Jhapa District (; ) is a district of Koshi Province in eastern Nepal named after a Rajbanshi Surjapuri language word "Jhapa", meaning "to cover" (verb). The 2021 Nepal Census, puts the total population of the district at 994,090. The total a ...

to Gaddachauki, Kanchanpur. A total of Rs 11.22 billion has been spent. The

Government of Nepal The Government of Nepal () is the central executive authority of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. The government is led by the Prime Minister of Nepal, prime minister (K. P. Sharma Oli, K.P. Oli since 15 July 2024) who selects all the o ...

is allocating Rs 4 billion annually for the expansion of the railway. Under the Bardibas-Simra Railway Project, of the 108-kilometre section, track bedding work on the 70-kilometre section (Bardibas to Nijgadh) is almost completed. About 50 km of track bedding is already finished. The construction of bridges and installation of culvert along the section is underway.

Section

The railway project is being constructed in nine sections as below: # Inaruwa–Kakarvitta Railway Project # Inaruwa–Bardibas Railway Project # Bardibas–Simra Railway Project # Simra–Tamasariya Railway Project # Tamasiya–Butwal Railway Project # Butwal–Lamahi Railway Project # Lamahi–Kohalpur Railway Project # Kohalpur–Sukkhad Railway Project # Sukhad–Gaddachowki Railway Project

References

{{Reflist Rail infrastructure in Nepal Proposed railway lines in Asia Proposed transport infrastructure in Nepal National Pride Projects