Indian Railways Arrives After Nepali Railways Repairs.

Two sets of DEMU trains purchased by Nepal are being sent to India for repairs after nearly 4 years of operation. During that period, India has already sent one of its trains to Nepal after Nepali Railways went for repairs.

Both sets of Nepali trains are going to be sent to Lucknow, India for repairs on Sunday. According to Nepal Railways Company Managing Director Niranjan Jha, both sets of trains will undergo periodic overhaul (POH) in Lucknow. 'This means repairing all parts of the train set to make it ready for operation. This is routine maintenance,' Jha said. 'On Sunday, both sets of Nepali trains are being sent to the Indian Railways' workshop in Lucknow. Until the Nepali trains are repaired, services will be operated by the trains sent by India.'

Tula Dangi, Acting Administrative Officer of Nepal Railways Company, said that all parts of the Nepali trains, including wheels, engines, bogies, seats, etc., will be repaired in Lucknow. Some seats of the Nepali Railways AC bogies have been torn and broken. Dangi said that all these problems will be resolved after the maintenance is completed.

Although India initially claimed money for the rail route to be used up to Lucknow, it later stated that it would not pay for the rail route, maintenance and even a set of trains sent for operation during the maintenance period.

Nepal Railway Company Managing Director Jha has issued a notice and stated that there are no AC coaches on the Indian trains running in Nepal during the maintenance period. 'The trains sent by India do not have the facility of AC coaches. All are general coaches only,' Jha said, 'During the maintenance period, Indian Railways will operate three times a day on Jayanagar-Janakpur and once a day on the Janakpur-Bhangaha section.'

Dangi, the company's acting administrative officer, said that India had already sent the ICF model Sakurbasti train to Inarwa in Dhanusha on Thursday for operation in Nepal during the maintenance period. He informed that the train sent by India consists of 6 general coaches with a single engine. "The train sent by India can have engines attached to both sides," Dangi said, "but the train will be operated with a single engine."