UK media reports that Rasuwagadhi, a small border town in Nepal, is currently the only passage from Nepal to China, but the infrastructure on the Nepalese side of this new route is poor. Now, the Rasuwagadhi fortress has become an important outlet for China's "Belt and Road" initiative. China is expected to build a railway by 2020 to the Gyirong port, 24 kilometers from the China-Nepal border, and a road will connect Nepal through the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in the Shigatse region, 500 kilometers away, to the entire South Asia and Central Asia regions.

　　Nepal Looks to China to Realize Its Railway Dream
　　The UK Financial Times website reported on September 26 under the title "How Long to Wait for a Train to South Asia?" that after the end of British colonial rule, Nepal's railways have seen little development. It was not until 2006 that Nepal signed the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network, joining the construction of this railway connecting Europe with China's Pacific ports.
　　After the 2015 Nepal earthquake, the passage into China via Kodari was closed, leaving only the route through the mountainous area of Rasuwagadhi. Currently, only truck drivers holding Rasuwagadhi ID cards from the key China-Nepal border town and special visas issued by the Chinese embassy can pass through this border checkpoint into China, but obtaining a visa is not easy. Hundreds of trucks are waiting at Rasuwagadhi for the order to enter Tibet. Truck drivers carrying goods between Gyirong County in Tibet and Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, do not know when they can enter Tibet—for truck drivers traveling between China and Nepal, this has become the norm.
　　Local officials are also very disappointed with the Nepalese government's lax attitude in managing this only passage. A guard said: "Look at the Chinese port across the border, how well they manage it. Look at us here, we don't even have a decent toilet, let alone other facilities."
　　The report says that currently there is no railway in operation in Nepal, and railways have never been a priority for the Nepalese government, but now things are changing. Because China has successfully completed the railway construction in the Shigatse region and announced that it will extend the railway to the China-Nepal border area by 2020. Nepal's new 20-year railway development plan plans to build 4,000 kilometers of railways, including multiple routes from the northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau into the Ganges floodplain in India.
　　Prakash Upadhyay, spokesperson for the Nepal Railway Department, said: "We are carefully studying this east-west railway line. Of the six railway links provided by India, two may be put into operation in southern Nepal next year. We have written to the Chinese government, hoping that China will select suitable enterprises to conduct a survey on the Kathmandu-Gyirong railway line. We hope this project can start as soon as possible."
　　Santosh Nepal, a truck driver who frequently drives between Rasuwagadhi and Gyirong, believes that "whatever the Chinese say they will do, they will definitely do it—so they will definitely build the railway to Gyirong in the future." He has seen projects built by the Chinese and was deeply impressed.
　　Nepalese officials are also full of confidence in all this. Upadhyay said: "In the past, we focused too much on roads, but in fact, it is not impossible to connect the northern mountainous areas and the southern plains by rail. We are confident that this ideal will soon become a reality."
　　At present, the railway planning in Nepal's northern border region is just beginning to take shape, while the line crossing the southern border is expected to be put into operation next year. The completed new line will connect Gyirong County in China and Kathmandu.
　　At the same time, the Nepalese government has set up a temporary immigration office in Timure, 3 kilometers from Rasuwagadhi, to issue Nepalese visas to Chinese tourists. According to Shrestha, in April this year alone, about 1,300 Chinese tourists came to Nepal through this port.

　　Endless Project Challenges
　　The report says that although the planning of the high mountain railway and road has been completed, the project still faces many challenges in the future. After entering Nepal through the Gyirong port, the terrain along the route is undulating, and earthquakes and landslides are commonplace. The Nepal Railway Department said that about 90% of the Kathmandu-Gyirong railway line may be bridges or tunnels. Officials said that thanks to China's commitment to invest, the funding pressure facing the entire project is much smaller than the technical constraints.
　　Upadhyay said: "Although Nepal faces considerable technical challenges, the construction of the Kathmandu-Gyirong railway line is not entirely impossible, but it is not as easy as building the Kathmandu-Birgunj section in the southern border region."
　　The report says that Nepal's lack of experience and technical strength in railway construction has become a major problem. To this end, Nepal has begun to seek help from neighboring countries and vigorously cultivate talent in this field.
　　Due to political turmoil, local elections in Nepal were not formally restored until this year. Previously, communication between the government and local residents was seriously hindered. Newly elected politicians hope to change this situation, and they also hope to work with the central government to promote the implementation of multiple agendas such as the "Belt and Road" initiative.