Officials successfully completed the test run of Janakpur-Jayanagar broad-gauge railway on Wednesday.

The 8.5-km long test run goods train engine lugged 53 wagons from Jayanagar in India to Khajuri in Nepal.

Nepali and Indian railway technical staff said the test run was successful.

In a telephone interview with the Kathmandu Post, Indian Railway Construction Company Limited (IRCON) Site Chief Ravi Sahay and Metro Development Project Site Office’s Engineer Binod Ojha said they ran the test run with a goods train that had 53 wagons successfully from Jayanagar to Khajuri.

The goods train carried around 5,000 tonnes of ballast from India on Wednesday. “Now on the construction materials would be carried via railway. We have faced difficulties while transporting construction materials from roads,” said Sahay.

Technicians said there would be no trouble in resuming train service with the successful completion of the test run.

Railway services between Janakpur-Jayanagar were suspended four years ago. Before services were suspended, local residents regularly used trains that operated between Janakpur-Jayanagar railway line.

This railway line was built during the rule of British Crown in India around 80 years ago to transport logs from the forest in Mahottari to India. At that time, the railway line was 52 kms long from Bijulpura in Mahottari District in Nepal to Jayanagar, Bihar in India. Around 15 years ago, floods swept away the Bighi Bridge, which affected railway services on the 29km stretch from Janakpur to Jayanagar.

The broad-gauge railway project, being built at a cost of INR5.5 billion (Rs8.8 billion) with the support of the Government of India, is divided into three segments. The first phase comprises construction of 34km segment between Jayanagar and Kurtha; the second phase comprises construction of 18km segment from Kurtha to Bhangaha, Mahottari District; and the third phase of work comprises construction of 17km segment from Bhangaha to Bardibas, Mahottari. Of the total railway line, 3 km lies in Indian territory.