August 25: Two trains for Janakpur-Jayanagar Railway have arrived at Hajipur of Patna. The train carriages and engines were manufactured by India’s International Coach Factory at a cost of Rs 860 million. The trains have been stranded in Patna due to the crisis created by coronavirus. The pandemic has cast uncertainty over the operation of the trains.

Nepal has paid 20 percent amount for the two trains. The remaining amount will be paid after test operation in Nepal, informed Director General of the Department of Railways, Balaram Mishra. The two trains have the capacity to carry 2,600 people (1,300 each).

The underconstruction Jayanagar-Janakpur-Bardibas Railway is 69 kilometers long. A 34-kilometer section of the railway track between Janakpur and Jayanagar is already complete. The trains will be operated along this section for the time being.

Nepal is planning to bring technicians from Indian on contract basis for the operation of the trains.

Director General Mishra informed that they have reached an understanding with the Indian Railway Board in a recent virtual meeting that the trains would be handed over to Nepal within mid-September. However, he added that the date might be postponed if the current situation persists.

The railways department is preparing to announce vacancy for human resource required to operate the trains. The selected candidates would be sent to India for training, said Mishra.

The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport had earlier sent around a dozen employees to China for training related to railway construction.

The government will have to bear additional cost to pay the Indian technicians for operating the trains for the time being on top of the training expenses of its own employees.

The Indian company has given one year’s guarantee for the trains.