First direct commercial freight train from
Kolkata Port reached the Nepal Customs Yard at Biratnagar in eastern Nepal
¨
On 20 July 2026, the
first direct commercial freight train from Kolkata Port reached the Nepal
Customs Yard at Biratnagar in eastern Nepal.
¨
The train was operated by
the Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR).
¨
It carried 40 forty-foot
containers loaded with canola grain.
¨
The movement took place
under the amended India–Nepal Rail Transit Framework.
¨
The framework allows
direct rail movement of containerised and bulk cargo to Biratnagar through the
Jogbani–Biratnagar broad-gauge cross-border rail link.
¨
The direct rail corridor
is based on the Letter of Exchange signed on 13 November 2025.
¨
The Letter of Exchange
amended the Protocol to the India–Nepal Treaty of Transit, which governs
transit arrangements between the two countries.
¨
Before this development,
Birgunj was the only customs point in Nepal that could receive third-country
rail cargo from Indian ports.
¨
The Jogbani–Biratnagar
rail link was jointly inaugurated on 1 June 2023 with grant assistance from the
Government of India.
¨
Container Corporation of
India Limited (CONCOR) is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry
of Railways.
¨
Kolkata Port is
officially known as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port.
¨
Biratnagar is a major
industrial city in eastern Nepal, located near the India–Nepal border.
¨
Canola is an oilseed crop
used for the production of edible oil and animal feed.
