The India-Nepal freight rail corridor through Jogbani has entered commercial operation, with the first direct freight train from Kolkata Port reaching Nepal’s Customs Yard at Biratnagar on July 20.
The 40-wagon train carried a consignment of canola cargo and crossed into Nepal through the Indian Customs Yard at Jogbani. The movement is the first commercial cargo operation following the November 2025 amendment to the India-Nepal Treaty of Transit.
The Jogbani-Biratnagar broad-gauge link was inaugurated in June 2023, but commercial freight movement required changes to the transit framework. The November 2025 Letter of Exchange subsequently allowed direct rail movement of both containerised and bulk cargo from Indian ports, including Kolkata and Visakhapatnam, to designated rail points in Nepal.
The development gives Kolkata Port a direct rail-linked gateway into eastern Nepal and provides Nepalese importers with an additional alternative to road-based cargo movement.
For the logistics sector, the significance lies beyond the inaugural train. Regular traffic on the corridor could reduce handling and transit friction, improve cargo connectivity to Nepal’s industrial belt around Biratnagar and strengthen Kolkata’s hinterland reach.
The next test will be whether the corridor develops into a regular, commercially viable freight service with sufficient cargo volumes.
Source: Press Information Bureau, Government of India
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