East-West Railway Stuck in Limbo: Minister Dahal

Kathmandu  Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Devendra Dahal, has said that due to a lack of budget, the national pride project  the East-West Electric Railway has reached a point where it is “neither possible to swallow nor spit out” (stuck in limbo).

Speaking on Wednesday during a discussion in the Federalism Strengthening and National Strengthening Committee under the National Assembly about national pride projects under his ministry, he said:

“The East-West railway is truly our dream project. We must build it. And when we say East-West railway, it is not just from Mechi in the east to Mahakali in the west. Rather, it’s about connecting with Southeast Asia and Asia itself,” he explained.

“The cheapest mode of transportation is by ship, and after that, it’s rail. Therefore, we must, at some point, operate railways, and we must operate the East-West railway. But at the moment, it’s stuck in a very difficult situation.”

Land Compensation Issues

Minister Dahal pointed out that the project has been stalled mainly due to problems with land compensation.

“We have been holding people’s land for four or five years now. We cannot pay compensation, nor can we do anything with it,” he said. “Currently, we are studying alternative options.”

He also added that moving forward with the East-West railway is not just the government’s decision, but a decision that has already been made by the parliament itself.