MONEY»
Nepal Railway on death bed
KATHMANDU, AUG 25 -
While the government is planning to build ambitious railway networks—Mechi-Mahakali Electric Railway, Kathmandu-Pokhara Electric Railway and a metro rail system in the capital—it is an irony that the one and only narrow gauge diesel-run Nepal Railway Company is on the verge of collapse.
The company faced Rs 10.63 million loss during the last fiscal year. Moreover, the condition of the railway is almost dead due to the lack of timely maintenance of engines, coaches, tracks and sleepers, as far as infrastructure goes.
Established seven decades ago, the railway network links Janakpur to Jayanagar of India with a 29-km track. In recent times, the railway is operating with two engines and 12 coaches and earns an average of Rs 70,000 per day by offering transportation facility to some 3,500 people and carrying 60 tonnes of goods.
Sanjeev Kumar Mallik, general manager of the Nepal Railway, said that they faced the loss during the last fiscal as a result of reduced operations and increased management cost. “Our income ranges from Rs 1.6 to Rs 2 million per month but the operational cost is above Rs 2.5 million,” he added. Over staffing, political interference, irregular operation of the service, negligence of the management and lack of proper monitoring of commuters who travel free of cost are also some of the reasons behind the downturn.
According to the annual report of the company, the income of Nepal Railway was Rs 22.52 million, of which Rs 21.01 million was spent on salary and Dashain allowance to the staff during the last fiscal year. In the fiscal year 2008-09, the company had earned a profit of Rs 1.56 million.
“The railway is on the verge of collapse and it needs major repair and maintenance work,” said Anil Gurung, director of the Department of Transport Management, which looks after the Nepal Railway. “There is no alternative to maintaining and running this railway for the convenience of people along the Nepal-India border but the company is in loss and has no investment from any side.”
Last year, the Nepal Railway Board had presented a 10-year work plan to make the country’s one and only railway service an easy, safe and reliable means of mass transport by upgrading it to broad gauge within five years. However, the government has not allocated any budget to the company since three consecutive fiscal years.
“If the government does not allocate budget this year, Nepal Railway will be force to shut down,” said Mallik.
According to Gurung, who recently visited the Janakpur to witness the condition of the railway, said that the two engines and six coaches are in a very bad condition and require major repair and maintenance. In 1993, India had provided four diesel engines to replace the outdated steam engines. In 1994, it had also offered 18 modern coaches.
The government is also working to upgrade Nepal Railway to broad gauge and link Jayanagar - Janakpur - Bujulipura with extension up to Bardibas as per the agreement with India for trans-boarder railway connectivity.
Posted on: 2010-08-26 08:36
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