May 12: Nepal will be operating two new trains by the upcoming Dashain festival. The country will get one of these two trains within the next four months and the other one soon after the delivery of the first one, according to government sources.

Director general at the Department of Railways, Balaram Mishra, told New Business Age that both the trains will have come into operation by the upcoming Dashain festival.

Nepal signed an agreement with India on Friday (May 10) for the procurement of the two trains.

Mishra on behalf of Nepal and Sanjay Gupta, managing director of Konkan Railway Corporation of India, signed the agreement during a function in the capital.

According to the Department of Railways, the train engines and their compartments to be purchased by Nepal will be manufactured at the Integrated Coach Factory in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Each train will have five compartments, including those with air conditioners, and will have a capacity to accommodate up to 500 passengers.

“As soon as we get the trains, an Indian technical team will assist us in bringing them into operation,” said Mishra, adding, “They will come into operation by the time of Dashain.”

Both the trains will initially operate from India’s Jayanagar to Kurtha of Dhanusha in Nepal. The laying of railway up to Kurtha has been completed, according to the department.

Spokesperson for the Department of Railways, Engineer Aman Chitrakar, said that Nepal will be taking the help of Indian technicians to operate the trains in the beginning. The department expects to produce own human resource to operate the trains within two years, said Chitrakar.