Nepal’s first modern train arrived at Janakpur on Friday painted crimson and blue, colors of the national flag.

Director General of Nepal Railway Guru Prasad Bhattarai informed the train to be completely capable of being operated via computerized system although it uses diesel and petrol as fuel.

He added that Nepal Railway has laid tracks suitable for the modern train. The tracks do not need to be shifted and joined manually; it can be done at the press of a button from the control room.

The mood of festivity has been soured by the tweet of Indian Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, though. He mentioned that India had gifted the train to Nepal, which is not the case.

“We have made a government-to-government(G-to-G) contract for procurement for two trains spending around 1 billion and 30 million rupees. We have already paid 850 million rupees and the remaining sum is required to to clear pending customs duty,” Bhattarai said. “Indian railway minister’s tweet just shows the domineering attitude of India.”

It’s uncertain, however, as to from when the train will come into operation. Media were abuzz recently with the news of the train service commencing from Dashain.

“Some management issues remain to be resolved. The modality of operation has not been finalized and India has not handed over the track on its side yet. We can’t declare the exact date at present,” Director General Bhattarai said. “COVID-19 is another determining factor. Control of the disease in Nepal alone is not enough. It has to be controlled in India too because the passengers are citizens of both Nepal and India living in the border region,” he added.

Lack of human resource is also a factor delaying the train service. The technical manpower Nepal Railway has at present is not familiar with the modern technology. Nepal Railway needs help from India in this regard. “We are thinking of making the preliminary operations with Indian manpower. Hopefully, we can train our existing force in a short time,” Bhattarai remarked.

Director General Bhattarai told things would be confirmed after the meeting that has been scheduled with the concerned parties on both countries this coming week.

Nepal Railway plans to expand its train network all over the country and expects to prepare a core team required for the operation within two years.