The history of railways begins nearly 500 years ago. It included a system powered by men or horses and rails of wood or stone. Wagonways or tramways were developed in Germany in the 1950s. The early railway system locomotive was built in 1804 but the modern railway system first appeared in England in the 1820s. Railways were first introduced to India in 1853. Today, the Indian railway network is one of the largest in the world. The first railway in Nepal opened in 1927 from Raxaul (India) to Amlekhganj, a distance of about 48km (46km in Nepal). The presence of railways is negligible in Nepal. The country has a total physical railway line of the 57 km. Nepal Railways Company (NRC) owns the 53-kilometer narrow-gauge rail line, which is composed of two sections: 32-kilometer section between Jayanagar in India to Janakpur in Nepal, and a 21-kilometer section from Janakpur to Bijalpura. Janakpur to Bijalpura network is not operational at present. The Indian Railways manages the six-kilometers railway line (of which four-kilometers fall in Nepal) that connects Inland Clearance Deport (ICD) in Birgunj to Raxaul, India. But importance of railway has been realized and different railway projects are under consideration.
Railways have the ability to move large volumes of goods and large numbers of people over long distance in a cost effective manner and in small spaces. The rail transport has significant advantages over other modes in terms of environment impact. Economics of distance and economics of scale are both achieved through railways because of a train?s ability to travel long distance and transport bulky goods, which are not easily transported by motor vehicles. The carrying capacity of rail is extremely high and is elastic which can be increased by adding more wagons in addition to existing ones. Railway is the safest form of transport; the chances of accidents and breakdowns are minimum compared to other modes. Railway would have its right of way (ROW), which results in maintaining the specific speed and regular flow of traffic. Therefore, the railway is a more reliable form of transport compared to the road transport. The airway system maybe an effective transport system in terms of speed, reliability and safety but the cost associated with it is much higher than the railway system.
The rail transport systems are efficient; they provide economic and social opportunities and benefits that result in positive multiplier effects such as better accessibility to markets, employment and additional investments. Underdeveloped transport systems, in terms of capacity and reliability, result in economic costs such as reduced or missed opportunities. The industrialization of United Kingdom was greatly supported by the development of railways. Movement of raw materials, finished goods, labour and technology is relatively easier and cost-effective when done by railways compared to other modes of transport.
Nepal has also realized the importance of railways and thus started exploring the possibility of developing it. Nepal has an ambitious goal of running East-West Railway linking to Kathmandu. The government?s highly ambitious modern electric railway project is to cost about $12 billion (NRs 8 trillion). The plan is to construct a 1318-km project including Mechi/Kakarvitta-Mahakali/Gaddachuki (945km) and Kathmandu-Pokhara (185km) sections. The project will connect the eastern border of Nepal to the western and will run through the terai belt.
The cost of construction, maintenance and overhead expenses of railway are very high as compared to other modes of transport. Moreover, the investments are specific and immobile. In case the traffic is not sufficient, the investments may mean wastage of huge resources. Railway is inflexible because rails are fixed and do not provide door-to-door services as trains only run on built tracks. Railways are not suitable for short distance travel and transportation of small goods. It would be very uneconomical in this case. ?Where there?s a will, there?s a way.? Nepal has proposed railway projects, now railways have to be built and operated for the benefit of the whole nation. Nepal doesn?t have access to the sea port; therefore, development of railways is a necessity for better economic development. In order to realize the benefits of railway large investments need to be made which cannot be fully afforded by public sector. Therefore, the possibility of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) for railways infrastructure investment has to be explored. PPP is a very much discussed cooperation form between the public and the private sector in infrastructure projects all over the world. It is the form of cooperation between public and private sectors for the funding, construction, operation, renovation, management and maintenance of an infrastructure for a specific period which could go up to 45 years. With PPP, the private investment is similar to business investment. The return on investment is collected through the operation of the infrastructure, and it is paid to investors in a pre-specified duration. Neighboring countries India and China have successfully executed PPP projects from which Nepal could learn the lesson.
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Source: http://www.englishnews.hamrosansar.net/2012/03/railways-for-nepal.html
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