The Last Train in Nepal India's Frontier Railways

Throughout its 5,000-year history,

the Indian subcontinent has suffered numerous invasions.

The last was by the British.

And among their greatest legacies were the railways

which fanned out to the very edges of their Indian empire.

But they quit India in 1947,

and hurriedly partitioned the subcontinent.

Now many of the old railway routes crossed the new frontiers

and were terminated.

A few survived.

They are India's frontier railways.

In 1927, a British civil servant drew a line on a map

to define the border between their British Indian empire

and the Kingdom of Nepal.

TRANSLATION:

Today, that line is still marked

by a chain of boundary stones and pillars.

For the locals, it's a border that is almost invisible

and their national identity is just a blip of administrative history.

INTERVIEWER:

CHILDREN SHOUT

The British also made another line, a railway line,

to carry wood from Nepal to India.

-TRAIN HORN BLARES

-The forests were stripped years ago,

yet the railway is still running.

It travels just 20 miles

from Janakpur in Nepal

to Jaynagar in India

and crosses the flimsy border twice a day.

This is a border with no gates,

no barbed wire, no fences, no guards,

or even immigration checks.

So, there's nothing to break the journey

of this 80-year-old service.

Instead, its biggest problem is whether the train will run at all.

The Nepal Railway Company is broke

and its last working train keeps breaking down.

DRIVER SOUNDS HORN

DRIVER:

It's no surprise that there are regular minor derailments.

They're mostly due to overloading.

But each train cancellation is a disaster,

both for the passengers and the workers.

For them all, this border line train is, literally, a lifeline.

This is the story of the last train in Nepal.

TRANSLATION:

The line was once owned by the King of Nepal,

a country never colonised by the British.

Once, three narrow-gauge trains a day

made the 20-mile run to India,

but now there's just one service,

and the only engine has broken down.

So, at the Nepal end of the line, at Janakpur Station,

they haven't seen a train for eight days.

One of the regulars waiting for the train to India is Regina.

She uses the train to smuggle in

cheap clothes and household goods from India.

She's a courier for shopkeepers in Janakpur,

earning a few rupees commission from every run.

Without the train, her commission has dried up,

and she has two teenage sons and a mother to feed.

With every new breakdown,

the fear of final closure hangs more heavily over the line

and its 150 employees and their families.

Armaan is a ticket checker for Nepal Railways.

A generation ago, his was a prized job

with a steady income and a pension.

But like the rest of his colleagues,

Armaan hasn't been paid for some time

Each day the train doesn't run,

Armaan has to face the ever-more frustrated and angry passengers.

MAN SHOUTS

Kathmandu is the head office of the government run Railway Department.

CAR HORNS BLARE

But it seems they're looking to the future, not the past.

Theirs is a vision with five new lines to India,

and passing through the Himalayas, a new border line to China.

Being a sandwiched country

between big neighbours China and India,

we'd will like to facilitate their trade as well.

So, we are dreaming of connecting

through Nepal, India and China.

These plans rely on foreign investment,

and that's all still 'under discussion'.

THEY SPEAK THEIR OWN LANGUAGE

At the moment, the Janakpur line is simply not on the agenda.

For this little line, the cupboard is bare.

Short of a miracle, the historic Janakpur line is doomed.

Back in Janakpur,

effectively abandoned by their management,

the railway workers discuss their options.

The only chance of getting any wages

is for the train to run, to sell tickets

and generate some cash for the railway,

and for themselves.

And that means mending the engine

and getting it back on the line.

Because without the engine, there's no train.

No train, no job.

A vote settles it.

They'll work unpaid to keep the line alive.

The engine is dispatched to the Khajuri Repair Yard and Workshops,

15 miles away, towards the Indian end of the line.

Vilas Mandal, ace mechanic, is Nepal Railways go-to man

in an engine crisis.

Three rusting engines, way beyond repair,

are his emergency stores.

20 years ago, the Indian Government presented

four diesel engines to Nepal

to replace their ageing steam engines.

And here in Khajori, right beside the maintenance shed,

they've been unceremoniously dumped.

However, amongst their rusting carcasses,

their industrial heritage is still visible.

Basudev Mandal was born 80 years ago

and he's the last surviving steam loco driver

on the Janakpur line.

BASUDEV:

MEN SHOUT

News of the resumption of the service soon reaches Janakpur.

Regina starts informing the local shopkeepers and taking orders.

It took Vilas and his team just two days

to resuscitate Nepal Railway's last surviving engine ZDM 524.

ENGINE STARTS

The engine is bound for Janakpur.

TRAIN HORN BLARES

With a little luck, the train will be able to hook up

with its coaches and wagons

and proudly announce that

the long delayed seven down 3.30 afternoon service

to Jaynagar in India

is running again.

With the good news,

a dormant Janakpur Station springs back to life.

Medicine sellers, magicians,

chai wallahs, tourists,

and even train spotters from China,

they jostle for space with passengers and goods.

Not everybody, however, believes the train will run.

But when the ticket window opens,

even the sceptics are convinced.

The train is definitely running.

A standard ticket from Janakpur to Jaynagar

costs 29 Nepali rupees - about 20 pence.

Bicycles and small animals cost another 10 rupees each way.

These modest fares are the railway's sole source of income

to buy diesel and pay wages.

Fare dodging is rife,

and Armaan has the hapless task of persuading everyone to buy a ticket.

A ticket is no guarantee of a seat on Nepal Railways.

There are no reservations

on the four or five official coaches or goods wagons.

So, with a thousand passengers and their luggage,

space is at a premium.

FAST PACED MUSIC

TRAIN HORN BLARES

As a regular, Regina confidently takes her usual place

on the open goods wagon.

She'll share the 20-mile journey with commuters, migrants,

other smugglers, animals, cycles, even trees.

Just about anything and anyone travels on this train.

BELL RINGS

After 12 days of waiting,

the 3.30 down service to Jaynagar in India finally sets off

bang on time.

TRAIN HORN SOUNDS

Travelling at a top speed of 10mph,

it should complete the 20-mile journey to the border

in about three hours.

But with a capacity load and seven stops along the way,

it's hardly ever on time.

But none of its passengers care about punctuality

so long as the train is running.

The train passes through one of the poorest regions

of one of the poorest countries of the world.

Working in the fields provides, at best,

a barely subsistence living.

REGINA:

For a single mother of two,

the train at least offers some financial security.

REGINA:

Deserted by her husband at the age of 19,

Regina has brought up her two sons Rehmat and Sehmat

on her smuggling income.

Right from the time they were young,

the boys have been working with their mother.

Education was not an option for them.

REGINA:

In Nepal, Regina and women like her are not regarded as smugglers.

They provide an essential service.

PASSENGERS SING

Locals call them blackiniya, black marketeers.

Smuggler is a term they reserve for those who bring in contraband,

like drugs and weapons.

REGINA:

In Janakpur, after a successful send off to the train,

Armaan is happy that they've kept the railway going...

at least, for the time being.

CHILDREN SHOUT

But his financial worries haven't gone away.

He has to depend on his father, a jobbing tailor,

or on credit,

taking out expensive loans from local moneylenders.

ARMAAN:

His eldest son, Sahil, is old enough to go to school,

but school costs money that Armaan hasn't got.

WOMAN:

WOMAN:

ARMAAN:

At dusk, without ceremony,

the train finally crossed the border into India

arriving only two hours late.

CHILDREN SHOUT

For some, it's the start of a new life

as they set off to find work in India and beyond.

For others there's business to make,

goods to shift, commerce to engage in.

Regina slips off into the night

and disappears into the crowd of this border town.

She has a list of goods to buy here

and bring them back to Nepal, duty free...

if she's lucky.

TRAIN HORN BLARES

HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

Just a few years ago, Jaynagar in India

was a sleepy little town in the eastern province of Bihar,

on the border of Nepal.

MAN:

But today, Jaynagar has become an important Indian railway junction

complete with an upgrade to broad gauge.

STATION ANNOUNCEMENT

Now, many Indian express trains start from here,

connecting this small town of 30,000 people

to most major Indian cities.

These express trains mostly carry workers from this region

to other parts of India in search of work.

Regina is back from her secretive shopping expedition.

What she needs now is a place to sleep.

The morning train to Janakpur is convenient.

Empty for once, and free.

A couple of sacks of goods serve as a mattress,

and a mosquito net completes her makeshift bed.

REGINA:

BELL RINGS

Today on this Nepali platform, as well as Regina,

there's an exhausted group of pilgrims from Rajasthan.

They've been travelling on Indian trains for the last 24 hours.

Having covered over 1,200 miles,

their last 20 will be on Nepal Railways to Janakpur,

the birthplace of the goddess Sita.

The subcontinent of India dates back to a time

when the land was defined by its pilgrim routes

and mythological stories,

not by territories divided by kings and governments.

Travelling the pilgrim routes was full of difficulties then,

and it still is.

But for devotees, it is both a demonstration of their faith

and a celebration of their gods.

PILGRIMS SING:

As for Regina, her faith is pinned on

this spirited but vulnerable little train

which has given her hope and financial survival.

REGINA:

The train may be a god to Regina

but it's a god with earthly needs,

like money for diesel.

During the 10-day festival of Dashain,

the train usually runs fully loaded.

The season should generate a welcome boost for ticket revenues.

And travelling ticket inspector Rajeshwar will do whatever it takes

to keep the railway running

and collect as many rupees as possible in fares.

RAJESHWAR:

TRAIN HORN SOUNDS

Janakpur Station has been patiently awaiting

the arrival of the train,

and so has Regina's youngest son, Sehmat.

They have a well-oiled routine.

Regina will unload

and then Sehmat will make off with the goods as quickly as he can.

There might be police waiting at Janakpur Station,

but Regina is ready.

Young Sehmat successfully makes off

with one enormous, bulging sack of clothes.

Now Regina chooses her moment

while the officials struggle to deal with the crowds

of pilgrims, passengers, and all their goods.

Then, in the blink of an eye, she's gone.

ARMAAN:

Armaan is as broke as the railway,

so he's in no mood to be charitable towards ticketless passengers.

PASSENGER:

Nepal is the birthplace of the Buddha,

but for Hindus, it's also the Land of the Gods.

In Hindu mythology, Sita, Lord Rama's wife,

is said to have been born right here in Janakpur.

The story of Rama and Sita may be 5,000 years old,

yet the gleaming temple of Sita

was just empty ground until a hundred years ago.

For Hindus, it's not the physical building

or its location which matters.

It's the aura of holiness that makes the mythology come alive

for these pilgrims.

The success of the festival of Dashain

is thanks to the train starting again.

It's brought a steady stream of pilgrims, and their money,

to the town.

BAND PLAYS

Today at the temple,

they're listening intently

to the story of Lord Rama's rescuing of Sita

from her evil abductors.

THEY CHAT LOUDLY

But for Regina and her sons,

the devotions and celebrations can wait.

The festive season means extra demand

for Regina's services.

She's now delivering daily consignments of clothes

for the shopkeepers in Janakpur.

With a steady turnover,

she can feed the family for a month,

and even pay off a few small debts.

Even after two weeks of uninterrupted service,

the railway hasn't yet earned enough

to pay the workers a salary.

Armaan's situation is becoming critical,

and the wolves are at the door.

ARMAAN:

With mounting debts and no guarantee of a job,

there are few options in Nepal for people like Armaan

unless he joins his peers,

migrating overseas for work.

For the religious, Janakpur may be a town for spiritual salvation,

but for the locals, it also holds the promise of a better life.

These days, they see themselves less as pilgrims

and more as economic migrants.

Janakpur town supports a network of immigration services

to serve the ever increasing demand for jobs abroad.

Industry and manpower agencies, travel agents,

remittance companies -

if you're prepared to travel,

the Janakpur network will find you a job anywhere in the world...

for a price.

TRAIN HORN BLARES

Packages, goods and passengers are already making their way

to Janakpur Station,

displaying addresses of distant lands.

They tell an increasingly common story of Nepal,

a massive population exodus.

Once, Nepal exported agricultural produce,

timber, tea, herbs.

But today its biggest export is its people.

As the train departs, its carriages are filled with

local gossip and travellers' tales of life stories

from home and abroad.

Nepal is fast becoming a country of migrants.

More than half of its households

have at least one member of the family working abroad.

TRAIN HORN BLARES

Nearly a quarter of Nepal's income

is made up by its citizens sending money home.

METAL CLANGS

PEOPLE SHOUT

After two weeks of uninterrupted service,

the train to Jaynagar has derailed.

Happily, no-one has got hurt.

But it's no cause for alarm for the regulars.

They're all too used to it

and willingly lend their support when there's a problem.

But they don't take kindly to any criticism

of their precious train.

MEN SHOUT

As usual, rather than wait for help to arrive,

Nepal Railways relies on its greatest resource,

the manpower of its passengers.

PASSENGER SINGS

Luckily, yesterday's derailment didn't cause any major disruption,

it just bent a few rails.

Jaleshwar is head of the track repair gang.

The derailment site is 10 miles from his home,

and like the rest of the railway staff,

he's prepared to do his duty wherever and whenever he's needed.

Reclaimed sleepers are already being hurried to the site

on the emergency motor trolley

so that the bent track can be repaired in time

for the morning train.

JALESHWAR:

It takes Jaleshwar and his gang

just under an hour to repair the old track,

so there's no delay to the schedule.

But back at home in his village,

Jaleshwar is under a lot of pressure,

not just from the railway,

but from his family too.

Now his younger son wants him to pay his travel expenses

so he can work abroad,

just like his brother.

Jaleshwar had to take a loan

to finance his eldest son's trip to Qatar.

Six years later, he's only just finished repaying it.

And now that his younger son Surya also wants to work abroad,

he has just no idea where the money will come from.

SURYA:

Today, Surya has come to Janakpur for a vital health check-up.

He has to have a medical certificate before he can travel abroad.

SURYA:

Qatar will be hosting the Football World Cup in 2022.

They're building to a deadline,

so the demand for cheap labour is high.

SURYA:

At Janakpur Station,

Regina's eldest son, Rehmat, is waiting for his mother

to arrive on the train.

He used to make these train runs himself,

but they've been cracking down on smugglers recently,

so his mother wants to protect him from arrest.

And today is no ordinary day for the morning service from Jaynagar.

ARMAAN ON SPEAKER:

There's going to be a big surprise raid

involving customs, police and ticket inspectors.

They're out to catch smugglers and fare dodgers.

And it's an opportunity to claw back some money

from ticketless travellers

and to confiscate some contraband.

As usual, Regina is aboard the train

with sacks of imported goods,

and both her sons are waiting to unload at Janakpur.

REGINA:

Today, Regina and her sons have to shift

a bigger consignment than usual,

and she gets caught.

But Regina doesn't let the first seisure deter her.

She makes a run with her second consignment.

But she's caught again.

Armaan is also in the front line,

collecting money from fare dodgers.

Age is no excuse for fare dodging,

and not paying for your ticket or for your cycle is an offence.

The youngest dodger gives up his shopping money as a fine

and then scuttles off to face his family.

GUARD:

As the station quietens down,

Regina sees an opportunity to liberate one of her impounded bags.

Three of her bags are still with the customs,

and she tries to plead with the guards,

but to no avail.

It's been an expensive day for Regina and her sons.

But it's been a good day for the railways.

As Armaan and his friends watch their accountant

add up their takings from ticket sales, freight charges

and all the other fines

there should be enough cash for some wages.

And it's very good news.

They've collected enough to pay themselves some wages.

Accountant Sitasharam agrees to pay one month's salary to everyone...

tomorrow.

The news couldn't have come at a better time.

Now, they can enjoy the festivities.

Tomorrow is the auspicious eighth day of the Dashain Festival,

when Hindus sacrifice a goat to the goddess Durga

for good luck.

Even with the expectation of one month's wages,

Armaan can't even think about sending his son to school.

But he's happy to buy some books for him,

to keep the dream alive.

It's payday,

the first in many months,

and at Janakpur Station, Armaan is in high spirits

while he waits for the staff from other stations down the line.

At Khajuri Station,

there are many goats waiting to board.

They're all to be sacrificed at the temple in Janakpur,

a ritual thousands of years old.

For many Hindus, animal sacrifice is central to their religious practise.

Today, the sacrifice will be made to appease the mother goddess

for their bad deeds of the last year.

GOAT BLEATS

As the devout escort their offerings to the temple on Janakpur Station

it's payday at last.

A month's salary for Vilas and Aarman is just £60,

which is less than two pounds a day.

And outside, others are waiting.

Creditors, shopkeepers and booze sellers are all waiting

to stake their claim on the money.

Now Vilas and his co-workers are able to pay back

some of their debts.

On the loco in Janakpur, they've also sacrificed a goat,

not just to the goddess,

but to the diesel engine ZDM 524.

Although most of his salary went to paying off debts,

Armaan will not let that stop him from having some fun.

He and his wife make a visit to the local fair

for some cheap thrills and something for the kids.

PASSENGER SCREAMS

Although Regina is a Muslim,

she, like many other poor people,

can ill afford to believe in sectarian divisions.

Regina wants to thank the Hindu goddess for her blessings.

She's survived, and so have her children.

REGINA:

As the festivities come to an end in Janakpur,

the railway and the town are grateful

for this boost to their income.

CHILDREN CHEER

TRAIN HORN BLARES

But down the line, at Jaynagar Station on the Indian border,

as they dispatch the morning service to Nepal,

a letter arrives.

It's come from head office

and it's addressed to the station master.

Now it's official.

The government's planned expansion is going ahead.

The Janakpur line will be closed.

It will be upgraded and rebuilt by the Indian government

and if things go well, in three years' time it will reopen

as Nepal's first broad-gauge train service

to Janakpur and beyond.

It may be good news for Nepal,

but for the 150 staff of this narrow-gauge train,

it's the news they've been dreading.

But there's a more immediate problem.

JALESHWAR:

Despite the letter,

the railway workers are determined to run their little train

for as long as they can

and to earn whatever they can.

TRAIN HORN BLARES

For now, Jaleshwar is managing to keep the train in service,

but his son Surya is more realistic.

He planned to go abroad,

but with his father's job disappearing,

he knows that getting a loan for the air ticket and visa

will be impossible.

So Surya starts doing what others do in this border area.

He becomes a small-time black marketeer,

smuggling household goods across the border.

TRAIN HORN BLARES

In Janakpur, Armaan is busy collecting tickets.

He's not ready to quit until he's forced to.

But he's faced with a difficult decision about his son's future.

His dream of sending him to a good school

means getting further into debt,

and he just cannot afford it.

His wife is still teaching her kids at home,

hoping that someday they'll realise her dreams.

SAHIL:

ARMAAN:

Regina is not ready to give up on the train either.

As long as it keeps running, she can earn money,

and for people like her, this train has been a saviour.

REGINA:

Her eldest son, Rehmat, is ready to take any job

to help maintain the family.

He's managed to get some poorly paid labouring work

on a building site in Janakpur.

Regina is surprised to hear that her eldest son has got a job.

And like any mother, she's both proud and touched.

The railwaymen and their passengers manage to keep the train running

for another few months.

But despite their efforts,

the Janakpur to Jaynagar line finally closed in 2014.

No decision has been made on the fate of its former employees,

and the new broad-gauge line is scheduled to open in 2017.