DHANUSHA: The Janakpur-Jayanagar railway is coming into operation from the second week of February.

Nepal Railway Company's General Manager Guru Bhattarai said that necessary preparation for operation of the railway service has reached its final phase.

The train service would cover a distance of 35 kilometres from Jayanagar in India's Bihar state up to Kurtha in Janakpur.

"Necessary structures including the railway track, railway station, signals are ready. The Indian technicians have also conducted tests on these structures. No technical work remains for operating the railway service on this section now," he said.

According to GM Bhattarai, key technical human resources are coming to Nepal from India within January 28 for operating the railway service. He shared that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would be reached with Konkarna Railway Corporation owned by the Government of India for this purpose.

"The required documents have been prepared and 26 technical personnel, including driver and engineers, are ready to come to Nepal from India," he said. Bhattarai further shared that the railway service would be started immediately by taking 45 staffers from the civil service and 60 retired staffers from the railway service, in addition to the Indian technical staff.

Various tests that are required to be conducted for operation of the railway service would be done and Nepali staffers would also be trained after the arrival of key technical human resources from India.

Two 'demo trains', brought from India on September 18 for operation on the Jayanagar-Kurtha section in the first phase, have been parked at the Inarwa-based station at present.

The Council of Ministers has already given the responsibility of railway security to the Armed Police Force (APF) Nepal. 126 APF personnel have been providing security on the Jayanagar-Kurtha railway section.

Railway tickets as well as software required for the operation of the service have also been arranged. Railway fare for the 35-kilometre section is Rs 70 per person in ordinary class and Rs 300 per person in AC class. The fare will increase by a maximum of Rs 15 on every kilometre in the ordinary class while it has been fixed five times more in the AC section.

There are five stations in the railway section -- Jayanagar, Inarwa, Khajuri, Baidehi and Kurtha.