Nepal to stop allowing Third country Nationals to enter India via Rail

As per news reports, Nepal will stop allowing travelers from third countries to travel to India by rail via the recently launched Kurtha-Jayanagar railroad as Indian officials have expressed security concerns, which was also confirmed by a senior official of the Department of Railways.

The Director General of the Department of Railways Deepak Kumar Bhattarai stated, "This was agreed while finalizing the Standard Operating Procedure (SPA) for cross-border railway operation", reported The Kathmandu Post newspaper. It is a document to outline the procedures which need to be adopted while operating the railway service. Reports also mentioned that India and Nepal signed the SPA in New Delhi last month.

According to the Director General of the Department of Railways, "India's security concern was one of the reasons why it took so long to finalize the SPA." Further, he added, "Nepal will now notify India regarding passengers on board to make sure that the security is cleared at the border point." He added that "“Based on the tickets issued, we will have to send details of the passengers who are travelling to India." 

He also said, "The Indian side had initially requested that third-country nationals be fully excluded from utilizing the railway system, but we rejected this suggestion. The two parties then agreed that third-country nationals would be allowed to travel on the railway within Nepal but would not be allowed to enter into India," quoted by The Kathmandu Post.