Kathmandu, Aug. 25 -- This is the first instalment in a new limited series in Nepali Times on the historic transportation infrastructures of Nepal.
Nepal's Forest Railways
As India's railway network expanded in the 1890s and 1900s, the demand for wooden railway sleepers, called 'ties' in America, likewise increased. The Rana regime realised that western Nepal's dense forests, from which sal trees could be extracted and sold, represented a valuable source of revenue.
There was a problem of accessing large tracts of Tarai forests. However, once Indian railway lines are extended to Nepal's border in several places, this issue could be resolved by constructing logging railways, also known as 'tramways' or 'light railways'.
The Nepal Governm...