Plan to link Nepal capital with Delhi, Kolkata by rail

India’s Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu has announced that Kathmandu would soon be linked to New Delhi and Kolkata using direct railway lines, in a bid to strengthen cross-border connectivity and facilitate movement of people between the two countries.Prabhu, who is in Kathmandu to address the Nepal Infrastructure Summit, said that this could happen as soon as Nepal signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for engineering surveys. He added that India was ready to share its drone technology and experience with Nepal for monitoring the project. According to experts, the move is a counter to China’s bid to expand its rail network towards Lumbini via Kathmandu.Prabhu held separate meetings with Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Ramesh Lekhak, Civil Aviation, Culture and Tourism Minister Jiwan Bahadur Shahi and Energy Minister Janardan Sharma.He also met Nepalese business leaders, political leaders, industry heads, with whom he discussed a wide range of infrastructure development issues.