What happened: Direct commercial container freight from Kolkata Port to Biratnagar
Indian Railways successfully ran the first-ever direct commercial container freight train on the India–Nepal cross-border rail route from Kolkata Port to Biratnagar Customs Yard, Nepal. The train ran as a commercial container service under the revised India–Nepal Rail Transit Protocol (an operational arrangement for end-to-end rail movement across the border).
Key details announced include:
Train composition: 40 wagons.Cargo: canola.Border handling change claimed: direct rail movement of containerised cargo from Kolkata Port to Biratnagar without transshipment at the border (cargo transfer to another mode or train at the frontier).
Background and earlier position: Rail link between Jogbani and Biratnagar
The latest commercial service builds on the existing broad-gauge rail link between Jogbani (India) and Biratnagar (Nepal). The broad-gauge link was inaugurated in June 2023 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi (India) and the then Prime Minister of Nepal.
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