About the Janakpur Railway
Early in 2004 the railway line known as 'Transport Corporation of Nepal - Janakpur Railway' was renamed in 'Nepal Railways Corporation Ltd'. It remains a state-run enterprise, which despite high numbers of passengers, doesn't seem to make any progress. If it wasn't for the donations of the Indians, it would have probably still been a steam operation. The line runs north from Jaynagar in India direct to the green border, turns to the west and reaches Janakpur Dham after only 29 kilometers. There is a depot and the offices of the railway. Until 2001 the line run further north to Bizalpura. After a dam and bridges were washed away, this part of the line was closed. The only gradient of any significance is on the Indian side of the border and is the ramp onto a bridge. For the rest the landscape is as flat as a pancake. The 762mm narrow gauge line owes its existence to the lack of a road between Jaynagar and Janakpur and to the location of an important temple in Janakpur. When there are temple festivals the trains are hopelessly overcrowded and trains run without timetable round the clock.
