Means of Transportation and current situation of transport in Nepal

Means of Transportation in Nepal

Surface Transport

1. Road Transportation: It is one of the most important modes of transport in Nepal. By mid-March 2020 all district headquarters have been linked to road network except Humla. However, the current plan has set its target to connect all 77 district headquarters with road networks by the end of the plan period.

Major Highways of Nepal	Length
East-West Highway (Mechi to Mahakali)	1027.67 km
Mechi Highway (Illam to Taplejung)	224 km
Sagarmatha Highway (Mirchaiya to Salleri)	200 km
Karnali Highway (Nepalgunj to Jumla)	200 km
Prithvi Highway (Naubise to Pokhara)	174 km
Tribhuvan Highway (Kathmandu to Birgunj)	192 km
Siddhartha Highway (Pokhara to Bhairahawa)	184 km
Araniko Highway (Kathmandu to Kodari)	114 km

Source: Economic Survey 2019/20

By mid-March 2020 the number of vehicles per km in the country has reached 111. The total length of road by mid-March 2020 has reached 34,347 km.

Road Network in Nepal (Type and Length in km)

Type	At the end of FY 2018/19	Up to mid-March 2020
Blacktopped	14,695	15,254
Graveled	8,594	9,251
Earthen (Fair Weather)	9,590	9,842
Total	32,879	34,347

Source: Economic Survey 2019/20

2. Railway Transportation: Nepal does not have a high potentiality for railway service due to the lack of adequate capital and technical knowledge.

The first railway in Nepal was constructed in 1936 A.D. between Amlekhgunj and Raxaul which is known as Nepal Government Railway. Its length was 48 km. However, it was found uneconomical and now it is out of operation. The Janakpur-Jayanagar Railway was established in 1936 A.D. Currently, the train runs on the 29 km line from Janakpur to Jayanagar. The government has planned to extend the track by 17 km up to Bardibas besides upgrading it from narrow gauge to broad gauge.

Various projects like Railway Construction Project, Railway Project under the Indian Cooperation, Mechi-Mahakali electric railroad, Kathmandu Metro Transport Project are ongoing under this department.

3. Ropeway Transportation: The ropeway between Kathmandu and Hetauda, established in 1964 A.D. has 42 km of the cableway. Now, the government has decided to stop its operation due to the lack of proper repair and maintenance. A cable car service (3.1 km) between Kurintar of Chitwan district and Manakamana of Gorkha district is built and operated by the private sector. Similarly, the country’s second cable car system, Thankot-Chandragiri has also been started in 2073 Baisakh. Its length is 2.5 km.

Air Transport: 

Nepal is a mountainous and hilly country. Therefore, air transport service provides important service to people. Nepal’s aviation history date back to 1949 when the first-ever single engine aircraft landed in ting cow pastures in Sinamangal, Kathmandu which is today’s Tribhuvan International Airport. Currently, the total number of air-fields (small and large) has reached 58 which is shown in the table below:

Airfields in Nepal	Number
International Airport	1
Regional Hub Airport (Nepalgunj, Biratnagar,Gautam Buddha and Pokhara)	4
Other Domestic Airports	44
Airports under Construction (6 domestic + 3 international)	9
Total	58

Source: CAAN Annual Report, 2018

Of these, 33 airports are in operation. The process has been started to develop the Gautam Buddha Airport in Bhairahawa, as a regional international airport under South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project.