RAXUAL-KATHMANDU RAILWAY LINE

Sept. 1, 2018

India and Nepal have signed an MoU to build a strategic railway line connecting Bihar’s Raxual city to Kathmandu.

About:

  • The Raxaul-Kathmandu rail line is expected to expand connectivity by enhancing people-to-people linkages and promoting economic growth and development.

  • The signing of the MoU comes two years after China agreed to construct a strategic railway link with Nepal through Tibet with an apparent aim of reducing Nepal’s dependence on India.

  • The MoU was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepal's Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli on the side-lines of the 4th BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu.

  • This was the third meeting between Modi and Oli this year. They met earlier during Oli's visit to India in April and the subsequent visit of Prime Minister Modi to Nepal in May.