Mahendranagar, July 22

Janakpur-Jayanagar Railway, the only railway service of the country which remained non-functional for the last three years, is all set to resume its service after the completion of reconstruction work, as per authorities.

Repair of 51-km railway stretching from Jayanagar, India to Bijulpura, Mahottari, in Nepal is about to complete and the service will resume within eight months, said the Railway Department under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.

The railway service came to a complete halt three years ago for want of repair and proper management.

Started from 2014, the repair is expected to be completed by March, 2018. A narrow-gauge railway has been replaced by broad-gauge railway while other repair has been almost completed, said senior engineer at the Railway Department Prakash Upadhyay.

So far construction of rail stations, office buildings, track beds, custom office and quarter building for railway staffers has been completed while track laying is in progress, he added.

Meanwhile, the preparation of the detail project report is underway to repair 18 kilometres rail track stretching from Bijulpura to Bardibas in the second phase, the Ministry stated.

Although the Railway Department has already fixed and marked the land to be acquired for the project, lack of budget has obstructed further process, said an official of the Railway Department.

Around three billion rupees is estimated for land acquisition. Land acquisition process would move ahead soon, said Rabindra Adhikari, the president of the Development Committee under the parliament, who recently inspected the site.