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Chinese railway experts will conduct a survey on the feasibility of building a cross-border China-Nepal railway line
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The planned cross-border railway would start where the existing tracks from Lhasa end in Shigatze and stretch to Keyrung Port in Nepal
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China has built the Laos-China Railway. It is also building the Jakarta-Bandung Railway and co-building with Russia the Hungary-Serbia Railway
A team of Chinese railway engineering experts will head for Kathmandu to conduct a survey on the feasibility of building a cross-border China-Nepal railway line that will run along steep slopes and barrel through tunnels in the Himalayas.
The survey would be the initial step in China’s plan to help realize Nepalis’ dream of a railway that will link the two countries and improve connectivity, trade and people-to-people exchanges.
The plan was discussed during a meeting between visiting Nepali Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Qingdao on August 11, the China Daily reported on September 6.
Wang announced that China will use aid funds for Nepal to support the feasibility study of the China-Nepal cross-border railway, and will send experts to Nepal to conduct survey work within this year.
The two sides will also build a Trans-Himalayan Multidimensional Connectivity Network, according to a statement issued after the ministers’ meeting.
Nepal’s Ambassador to Beijing Bishnu Pukar Shrestha has said Nepalis have been dreaming of a cross-border railway to China, the Chinese newspaper reported.
Transportation has stagnated since the COVID-19 pandemic began, leaving goods stuck in the land ports while personal travel has been hindered, the diplomat said.
Shrestha said the railway will carry to China such Nepali goods as cashmere fabrics, wood products, handicraft and organic alpine agricultural products. He said Nepal will also launch its national pavilion on China’s e-commerce platform JD to reach more Chinese customers directly.
“Once the China-Nepal Railway is completed, it will greatly save time and transportation costs for cross-border trade. Goods that used to have to be shipped to China or India by sea can also be transported via the railway at a significant cost reduction,” was quoted by China Daily as saying.
The China-Nepal cross-border railway will link Shigatse in Tibet Autonomous Region, where the existing railway from Lhasa ends, and Keyrung Port in Nepal, Shrestha. He added that the railway is not only important to Nepal, but also strengthens its connectivity with neighboring countries.
Construction of the China-Nepal cross-border railway will have many obstacles, such as a challenging topography and high altitudes. Linking China and Nepal by railway also requires tunneling through the Himalayas.
But China has the technology and experience in rail construction, having built the Laos-China Railway, which opened in December 2021 linking Kunming province with the Laotian capital Vientiane.
China Daily said the line has improved the flow of goods and people between China and Laos, as well as other member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
In its first six months, the Laos-China Railway handled more than 3.2 million passenger trips, with some 2.8 million of the journeys made within China and 410,000 in Laos. The line also transported 4.03 million metric tons of goods.
On March 19 this year, the Hungary-Serbia Railway co-built by China and Russia opened its 166-km first section from Budapest to Novi Sad. Work on the 189-km second stage to Belgrade continues.
China is also building the 142-km Jakarta-Bandung high-speed line on Indonesia’s Java Island, which is expected to open next June. With a designed speed of 350 km per hour, the railway will cut the journey time between Jakarta and the capital of West Java province from about three hours to 40 minutes.
On August 21, China began shipping to Jakarta the 11 sets of high-speed trains that will ply the Jakarta-Bandung route.
