Updated on Monday, January 05, 2009, 00:00 IST

Araria/Katihar (Bihar), Jan 05: Railway Minister Lalu Prasad said the new train between Jogbani on Bihar-Nepal border and Delhi would consolidate the age-old friendly ties between the two countries.

He was addressing a gathering at Forbesganj, which included Nepalis in large numbers, after flagging off the Seemanchal Express between the border town of Jogbani and Delhi on Monday.

Prasad said the survey of a new rail link between Jogbani and Biratnagar, the commercial hub of Nepal, had also been sanctioned and when implemented it would bring the land-locked country into the railway map.

He also announced the electrification of the 107 km-long Jogbani-Katihar section of North East Frontier Railway.

The Jogbani-Delhi Seemanchal Express would run five days a week instead of the earlier announcement of a weekly train.

The route of the train has also changed, now it will run via Patna-Mughalsarai and not the proposed via Hajipur-Lucknow.

At another function at Katihar, Prasad announced broad gauge conversion of Katihar-Tejnarainpur section. He also formally declared the electrification of Katihar-Barauni section at a cost of Rs 200 crore.

The Katihar-New Jalpaiguri (NJP) and NJP-Guwahati sections would be benefitted by the electrification, he added.

Bureau Report