THE Nepalese government’s Department of Railways (DoR) has invited expressions of interest from consultancies to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for a 27.5km circular line in the Kathmandu Valley, with the choice of mode between railway, metro or monorail to be determined by the feasibility study.
According to the pre-feasibility study for the project, the new line would serve Narayan Gopal Chowk, Chabahil, Koteshwar, Satdobato (Lalitpur) and Ratnapark. The government has allocated Rs 323.4m ($US 2.1m) to the project, according to DoR, and the preferred bidder will have 18 months to complete the DPR.
According to The Kathmandu Post, DoR is currently evaluating four other electrified urban rail projects for the Kathmandu Valley:
- Kirtipur - Kalimati - Baneshwar - Tribhuvan International Airport (11.15km)
- Koteshwar - Chabahil - Swayambhu - Koteshwar (28.53km)
- Swayambhu - Dillibazar - Bauddha (11.7km), and
- Dhobighat - Singha Durbar - Naxal - Gongabu (13.8km).
While the first two projects are likely to be elevated lines, the second two would run underground.
Serving Kathmandu’s current population of around 4 million, the new lines would help ease traffic congestion and reduce dependence on private vehicles, also reducing the need for Nepal to import fuel. Air quality would improve and the new lines are expected to encourage tourism.
For detailed data on Asian metro projects, subscribe to IRJ Pro.
