KATHMANDU: Progress on the government’s ambitious East-West Railway project has significantly slowed down, largely due to unresolved land compensation disputes and financial constraints.
Despite being designated a National Pride Project, the East-West Railway has made only marginal headway since its inception over a decade ago. According to recent updates, just 3.4 percent of the 925-kilometre railway line—from Kakkadbhitta in the east to Gaddachauki in the west—has been completed so far.
Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister Devendra Dahal recently acknowledged the stalled progress, telling a meeting of the National Concern and Coordination Committee under the National Assembly that the project has become a “neither chewable nor swallowable” burden for the government, mainly due to a lack of funds.
The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the railway cost nearly Rs 4 billion, but construction and physical implementation have seen little momentum. At the current pace, experts warn it could take several more decades to complete the full stretch of the railway.
In addition to the East-West Railway’s stagnation, Nepal’s only operational railway, the Janakpur-Jaynagar line, is currently operating at a financial loss, raising further concerns about the viability of rail infrastructure development in the country.
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Photo: Nepal Photo Library
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