Transport in Nepal

Nepal is a landlocked Himalayan country where transportation is difficult due to mountainous terrain.

Road

Road is the country's primary transport mode.

Highways

Highways;

  • Total: 13,223 km
  • Paved: 4,073 km
  • Unpaved: 9,150 km (1999 est.)

Rail

One 59 km line operates between Janakpur and Jainagar, close to the Indian border. The entire line is in 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge.

In 1998, two ZDM-5 diesel locomotives were donated by Indian Railway to Nepal Railways. In 2004, the Kolkata - Raxaul - Sirsiya broad gauge line started operations as an Inland Port. In 2008, three other proposals for rail connectivity to Nepal were considered and had preliminary engineering surveys done: New Jalpaiguri (India) to Kakrabitta (Nepal) via Panitanki (46.3 km); Nepalganj Road (India) to Nepalgunj (Nepal) (12.1 km); and Nautanwa (India) to Bhairahawa (Nepal) (15.3 km). In 2010, a line was proposed connecting Nepal and India. In 2011, metro trains were proposed in Kathmandu valley, while feasibility studies were conducted by the Delhi Metro Corporation and were declared in the Budget session.

In 2017, progress on an $8 billion rail link with China accelerated after Nepal formally signed up to Beijing's One Belt One Road Initiative.[1]

Air

45 airports operated in Nepal as of 2002. Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu is the only international airport and serves as the main aviation hub.

Airports with paved runways

  • Total: 9
  • Over 3,047 m: 1
  • 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
  • 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2002)

Airports with unpaved runways

  • Total: 36
  • 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
  • 914 to 1,523 m: 7
  • Under 914 m: 28 (2002)

Water

Nepal's three dry "ports" are Birgunj, Biratnagar and Bhairahawa. Nepal is a landlocked country with no ocean borders. There is little use of water transportation within the country.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Nepal in talks with China to build $8 bn cross-border rail link". Times of India. May 14, 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-09-01.
  2. ↑ "Transportation in Nepal : Roadways, Airways, Railways, Waterways, Ropeways". ImNepal.com. 2016-09-15. Retrieved 2017-11-08.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2003 edition".

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.