India-Nepal Cross-Border Trade Enters New Era

Streamlining Cross-Border Logistics

The breakthrough service operates under the revised India-Nepal Rail Transit Protocol, formalizing direct rail movement following a Letter of Exchange signed between the two countries in November 2025.

By enabling seamless end-to-end transportation from port to inland port, the initiative addresses long-standing logistical bottlenecks.

Key Operational Highlights:

• Route: Kolkata Port (India) $\rightarrow$ Jogbani (India) $\rightarrow$ Biratnagar Customs Yard (Nepal).

• Cargo Capacity: 40 wagons carrying imported canola.

• Key Innovation: Elimination of border transshipment, allowing goods to move directly into Nepal on broad-gauge rail lines.

Major Economic & Environmental Benefits

The transition to direct rail freight is expected to deliver significant advantages for exporters, importers, and industrial supply chains across the region:

• Lower Cost & Faster Transit: Removing intermediate border handling drastically cuts transit times, reduces overhead costs, and minimizes cargo damage risk.

• Supply Chain Reliability: Offers a predictable, scheduled transport alternative to road-based trucking networks.

• Greener Transportation: Shifts heavy freight from highway trucks to electric-powered rail lines, significantly lowering carbon emissions associated with cross-border trade.

Years in the Making

The achievement builds upon infrastructure investments laid over recent years. The broad-gauge rail link between Jogbani and Biratnagar was jointly inaugurated in June 2023 by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart.

With the formal activation of direct commercial rail movement, both nations take a major step forward in building integrated, future-ready freight infrastructure across South Asia.