The Janasarokar Abhiyan, a citizen-led campaign based in Janakpurdham, has formally urged the Nepal Railway Company to improve the operation and management of the city's railway service, submitting a memorandum that calls for a cleaner, safer and more passenger-friendly travel experience. A team led by campaign chairperson Jitendra Mahato handed over the demands to the company, citing the religious, historical and cultural importance of Janakpurdham as the central reason why the rail service deserves urgent attention and upgrade.

A memorandum for better service

The memorandum was submitted to the Nepal Railway Company, the body responsible for running the Janakpurdham railway service, by a delegation of the Janasarokar Abhiyan headed by its chairperson, Jitendra Mahato. According to the campaign, the purpose of the memorandum is straightforward: the railway service in Janakpurdham should be operated and managed effectively, with the comfort and convenience of passengers placed at the centre of everyday operations.

The campaign argued that a city of Janakpurdham's standing, which welcomes devotees, pilgrims and travelers from across Nepal and beyond, cannot afford a railway experience that leaves passengers struggling with basic inconveniences. By placing its demands on record through a formal memorandum, the Janasarokar Abhiyan has sought to ensure that the concerns of ordinary rail users are heard directly by the authority in charge of the service.

What the campaign is demanding

The demands set out in the memorandum focus on the day-to-day realities of travelling by train in Janakpurdham. Chief among them are:

  • Smooth passenger movement: The campaign has called for arrangements that allow passengers to enter, exit, board and disembark without unnecessary obstruction or disorder.
  • Daily platform cleaning: Platforms should be cleaned every day so that the station presents a clean and welcoming face to travelers at all times.
  • Proper waiting room arrangements: Waiting rooms need to be organised and maintained so that passengers have a comfortable place to wait for their trains.
  • Adequate toilet facilities: The memorandum seeks proper toilet arrangements at the station, recognising sanitation as a basic expectation for any passenger facility.
  • Drinking water: Passengers should have reliable access to drinking water while waiting for or arriving on trains.

Taken together, these demands sketch the picture of what the campaign believes a passenger-friendly railway station should look like: clean platforms, functional waiting rooms, hygienic toilets, drinking water and an overall environment in which passengers, including elderly devotees, women, children and first-time visitors, can travel with ease.

Why Janakpurdham's railway matters

In pressing its case, the Janasarokar Abhiyan placed particular emphasis on the religious, historical and cultural importance of Janakpurdham. The city is one of Nepal's most revered pilgrimage destinations; home to the historic Janaki Temple and revered as the birthplace of Goddess Sita, it draws a steady stream of devotees and visitors whose first experience of the city often begins the moment they arrive at the railway station.

The campaign's position is that a city of such significance should be served by a railway operation that reflects that stature. When platforms are untidy, waiting rooms are poorly managed, or basic facilities such as toilets and drinking water are lacking, it is passengers, many of them pilgrims, who bear the burden. Conversely, a well-managed and passenger-friendly service would support the many people who rely on the railway for their daily movement and travel, and would complement the city's identity as a centre of faith, history and culture.

Expectations from the Nepal Railway Company

With the memorandum now in the hands of the Nepal Railway Company, attention turns to how the demands will be received and acted upon. The Janasarokar Abhiyan has made clear that it expects the effective operation and management of the service not as a favour, but as a standard that a railway serving a city of Janakpurdham's importance should meet.

Notably, the demands are practical rather than ambitious in scale. Rather than calling for major infrastructure projects, the campaign has concentrated on operational essentials: cleanliness, orderly passenger flow, functional waiting rooms, usable toilets and drinking water. These are measures that fall squarely within the scope of routine station management, and their implementation would be visible to every traveler who passes through the station.

For the people of Janakpurdham and the many visitors the city receives, the hope is that the memorandum marks the beginning of a visible improvement in the railway service. The Janasarokar Abhiyan has signalled that it will keep pressing for a railway experience that matches the religious, historical and cultural pride of the city, one that treats every passenger with the care and convenience they deserve. The memorandum submission was reported by RatoPati.