Sunday, April 5, 2020

Railway passengers without ticket to be fined Rs 25,000

If anyone travels without buying a ticket in the railway, the person will have to pay cash penalty of Rs 25,000.
The government has – in the new Railway Bill – brought some of the strict provisions, as the Janakpur-Jayanagar railway is about to start operation. After being endorsed by the House of Representatives, the government today tabled the Railway Bill at the National Assembly for final approval.
The government has been long planning to operate railway services in a number of possible routes in and out of the Kathmandu Valley. “Apart from the railway service between Kurtha of Janakpur and Jaynagar of India, the government is planning to operate the new transport means in Kathmandu-Raxaul, Kathmandu-Kyirong and Nijgadh-Hetauda-Bharatpur routes. Likewise, the East West Electrified Railway is also an ambitious project that the government has planned in order to improve connectivity within the country.
Currently, the sector is managed under the provisions of Railways Act 1963 but the government has revived Nepal Railway Company by revising the organisational structure of the old company, and also with a legal teeth. A fully autonomous Nepal Railway Board will work as the regulator of the sector, the Bill reads, adding that the board will be authorised to manage separate travelling ticket examiner to ascertain whether passengers are traveling with ticket or not.
The Bill has provision allowing the Nepali company to extend railway service in other countries or foreign companies to extend their services up to Nepali land. Likewise, any foreign company wishing to operate railway service via Nepali land to connect to the third countries will be given permission based on mutual agreement, it reads.
“The government in accordance with the concerned countries can enforce its own conditions, mechanism and work guidelines,” the bill reads, allowing the government to form a separate unit for the security of the railway lines and related services. It has sought a separate license for the operator of the railway service. “But the operator must be a 10 grade pass or above to be eligible for the job.”

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