Nepal is a landlocked country where transportation is difficult due to the mountainous terrain. Modern transportation in Nepal has just started in the 20th century.
Railways were the first type of transport introduced in Nepal by the Nepal Railway Company. The first railway line began in 1927 with the length of 48 kilometres (30 mi) between Amlekhganj and Raxaul (India).[1]
The Government of Nepal also established many organisations and offices in 1950 to construct and maintain the roads inside and outside Kathmandu valley.[2]
Office
Work
Batokaj Goswara
Construction and maintenance of roads inside Kathmandu
Banaune Adda
Construction and maintenance of roads outside Kathmandu
Samajung Company
Repairs of roads inside Kathmandu valley
Naya Batokaj Adda
Construction of New road outside Kathmandu
The first highway, the Tribhuvan Highway was constructed in November 1952 between Kathmandu and Amlekhganj. The first vehicles (jeeps) were run on this road by Queen Kanti Rajyalaxmi in December 1953, on the fifth day of her marriage. Trucks could only pass through this road 2 years later, after 1955.[3]
Statistics of National Highway SNH-2020/21 and Provincial Transport Master Plan (PTMP) guidelines clears that the authority of the National Highway of Nepal resides with central government and the other roads has been handed over to provincial governments and local governments.[4][5]
Road transport is the country's primary transportation mode. The Economic Survey 2022-23 released by the Ministry of Finance (Nepal), shows that the country had a total road network of national road length of 34,100 km that only included roads constructed and maintained by the Department of Roads (DoR). This only included the national highway system[6]
National Highways are the major highways connecting Eastern Nepal with Western Nepal, and Southern Nepal with Northern. They are designated by the letters 'NH' followed by a two-digit number.
80 kmph
PH
Provincial Highways are the highways under provincial governments that run inside the respective provinces. They are designated by the letters 'PH' followed by two letters to designate the Province and then a three-digit number.
60 kmph
U/R
Urban/Rural roads are roads that reside within the municipality or rural municipality intended to serve within a specific metro, sub-metro, municipality or rural-municipality.
The Nepal Government Railway had operated a short narrow gauge railway from 1927 to 1965. As of 2022, there are two operational railway lines in the country, both of which connect Nepal with India: the Raxaul–Sirsiya and the Jainagar–Janakpur. The former is a 6 km (3.7 mi) line from Raxaul, India to Sirsiya Inland Container Depot (or dry port) near Birgunj, Nepal, and is primarily used for freight transport.[7] It allows container traffic to be imported to Nepal through the Sirsiya dry port container depot.[8] The latter is a 51 km (32 mi) line from Jaynagar, India to Janakpur, Nepal, and is used primarily for passenger transport.[9]
The China–Nepal railway is a planned line through Kathmandu, linking India with Lhasa in Tibet. It was proposed by the K.P. Oli government and in November 2017, Chinese media reported the arrival of a delegation of Chinese railway experts in Nepal. They discussed the possibility of a rail connection between China and Nepal.[12] In August 2018, the two sides reached an agreement on construction details of the railway.[13][14]
The first ropeway to carry cargo was Halchowk-Lainchour ropeway which was used to transport stones from the quarry to build palaces.[15] The famous, Dhorsing-chisapnai-Chandragiri ropeway passing into Kathmandu was built by Chandra Shamser Rana in 1922. It was upgraded in 1964 to reach to Hetauda with a total length of 42 km with technical and financial assistance from USAID.[16]
Following are the types of ropeways based on the operation mechanism and types of transport.
Tar pul or Ghirling
Also known as twin, these are rudimentary ropeways used in lieu of bridges to cross rivers. These are generally installed by the local community based on necessity. As of May 2004, there are 25 Tar Pul in Kavre, Gorkha, Myagdi, Udaypur, Chitwan and Lamjung [16]
Tar pul or Ghirling or Tuin
Gravity Ropeways
A gravity ropeway operates by using potential energy with mechanical power. A weight lowered from a higher elevation lifts the cargo.[17]
Ropeways of this type were first used in Mustang to transport apples. Since then they have been installed in four other locations: Gorkha, Tanahun, Kalikot and Achham.[15]
Most of the construction ropeways fall in this category.
Cargo Ropeways
Cargo ropeways are used in Nepal to transport goods from one place to another. The first ropeway, Halchowk-Lainchour, was in fact a cargo ropeway. The most famous cargo ropeway was the Kathmandu-Hetauda Ropeway, which is now out of operation.
Kathmandu-Hetauda Cargo Ropeway
Passenger ropeways
Mostly electrically operated, these kinds of ropeways or Cable Cars are used by passengers. The first of this kind was Manakamana Cable Car, established in 1998.
