Nepal is a landlocked country where transportation is difficult due to the mountainous terrain. Modern transportation in Nepal has only started in the 20th century.
Railways were the first type of transport introduced in Nepal by theNepal Railway Company. The first railway line began in 1927 with the length of 48 kilometres (30 mi) betweenAmlekhganj andRaxaul (India).[1]
The Government of Nepal has also established many organisations and offices to construct and maintain the roads inside and outside the 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, theTribhuvan Highway was constructed in November 1952 betweenKathmandu andAmlekhganj. The first vehicles (jeeps) were run on this road byQueen Kanti Rajyalaxmi in December 1953, on the fifth day of her marriage.Trucks could only pass through this road 2 years later, around after 1955.[3]
TheStatistics of National Highway SNH-2020/21 andProvincial Transport Master Plan (PTMP) guidelines clears that the authority of theNational Highway of Nepal resides with the central government and that the other roads has been handed over to provincial governments and local governments.[4][5]
| # | Government | Administrative body | Coordination with | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Federal government | Department of Roads (underMoPIT) | National Highway | |
| 2 | Provincial government | TID or IDD or IDO (under MoPID) | DoLI | Provincial Highway |
| 3 | Local government | Municipal government | DoLI | Urban/rural road |
Road transport is the country's primary transportation mode. The Economic Survey 2022-23 released by theMinistry 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 thenational highway system[6]
| Type | Description | Average speed limit |
|---|---|---|
| NH | 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. | 40 kmph |
TheNepal Government Railway had operated a short narrow gauge railway, from 1927 to 1965. As of 2022, there are two operationalrailway lines in the country, both of which connect Nepal with India: theRaxaul–Sirsiya and theJainagar–Janakpur. The former is a 6 km (3.7 mi) line from Raxaul, India to Sirsiya Inland Container Depot (adry port) nearBirgunj, Nepal, and is primarily used forfreight 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 fromJaynagar, India to Janakpur, Nepal, and is used primarily for passenger transport.[9]
Nepal andIndia agreed to construct8 different India–Nepal cross-border rail lines, including the line linkingRaxaul withKathmandu, during Prime MinisterK.P. Oli's visit to India.[10] A team of technical officers visitedKathmandu to study the proposed railway fromRaxaul toKathmandu and have stated that a feasibility study of the project would begin. They have already identifiedChobhar as the terminus of the 113 km-long line.[11]
TheChina–Nepal railway is a planned line through Kathmandu, linking the Indian Subcontinent withLhasa inTibet. 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]
There are 53 airports in Nepal as of 2020 out of which 34 are in operation. There are threeinternational airports that serve as aviation hubs: TheTribhuvan International Airport inKathmandu, TheGautam Buddha International Airport inLumbini, and ThePokhara International Airport inPokhara.
| Type | Paved runways | Unpaved runways | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 914 m | (3000 feet) | 31 | 1 |
| 914–1,523 m | (3000–5000 feet) | 7 | 1 |
| 1,524–2,437 m | (5000–8000 feet) | 1 | 0 |
| 2,437–3,047 m | (8000–10,000 feet) | 0 | 0 |
| Over 3,047 m | (over 10,000 feet) | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 40 | 2 | |
The first ropeway to carry cargo was theHalchowk-Lainchour ropeway which was used to transport stones from the quarry to build palaces.[15] The famous Dhorsing-Chisapnai-Chandragiri ropeway passing intoKathmandu was built byChandra 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 fromUSAID.[16]Following are the types of ropeways based on the operation mechanism and types of transport.
Also known astwin, 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 25Tar Pul in Kavre, Gorkha, Myagdi, Udaypur, Chitwan and Lamjung[16]
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 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.
Mostly electrically operated, these kinds of ropeways orCable Cars are used by passengers. The first of this kind wasManakamana Cable Car, established in 1998.
Nepal is alandlocked country that does not have any territory connected to anocean.[18]
Nepal's threedry ports areBirgunj,Biratnagar, andBhairahawa.
ropewayList was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromThe World Factbook (2025 ed.).CIA. (Archived 2003 edition.)
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