India’s First Direct Container Freight Train Reaches Nepal

India re-landed its first direct commercial container freight train at Biratnagar Customs yard in eastern region of Nepal for the first time in the history of the South Asian cross-border trade and regional connectivity. That’s a massive shift for the trade flows between the two neighbouring nations, and would eliminate the need of a cumbersome transshipment on the border and a direct rail connection.

According to Press Info, the maiden direct commercial train was operated under the auspices of Indian Railways and Container Corporation of India (CONCOR). It was composed of 40ft wagons bringing bulk canola grain from Fremantle, Australia under a partnership between global shipping line Maersk. The train started from Kolkata Port and met its target of reaching the Nepal Customs Yard ( Biratnagar) without trans-shipment of the cargo along the Jogbani–Biratnagar broad-gauge rail corridor.

DD India reported that signing of a new Letter of Exchange (LoE) that revised the Protocol to the India-Nepal Treaty of Transit enabled direct commercial train transit. To carry out this transportation the railway line between both the countries was constructed with the same grant support of the Government of India and the said railway was jointly inaugurated by the then Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and former Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the line was broad gauge.

As detailed by ET Government, the initiative is designed to deliver immediate economic benefits to importers, exporters, and logistics operators across both countries. The trade routes will see more significant reductions in transit times from using containers to be moved directly onto railtracks, fewer times for a cargo change of mode or manual handling of the containers at the borders, and improved supply chain reliability and reliability. 

In addition, the shift to direct rail transport offers an environmentally friendly mode of transport which supports sustainable logistics within the sub-region and will enhance bilateral economic relations.