[9] One year after the new broad-gauge railway opened, Niranjan Kumar Jha, the General Manager of the Nepal Railway Company, said that despite uncertainty about how many people would use the line after it had been closed for almost a decade, the number of passengers was steadily increasing, the line was making a profit, and had provided a significant boost to the local economy.

[12] Initially it was used by Britishers to carry timber from the then heavily forested areas of Janakpur in the Kingdom of Nepal to Jainagar (India).

[13][14] When all the timber in the area had been cut down, the owners gave the railway to the Nepali Government, and the carrying of passengers began.

[15] Janakpur, revered as being the birth place of the goddess Sita, is a holy and popular pilgrimage destination for lots of travelers within Nepal and India.

Large numbers of Indian visitors started to visit Janakpur using the railway, particularly at times of festival.

The management were not particularly competent, and the paperwork required to move freight by rail was far too complicated, resulting in most potential customers not bothering.

At the time, management had been transferred to the Nepal Transport Corporation, and there were hopes that this would lead to improvements in efficiency.

The report noted that two new locomotives had been bought in 1962, and that for the relatively small cost of NRs 3 million, the line could be upgraded, including the provision of new rolling stock.

Trains frequently derailed, but were usually put back on the track with help from the passengers, and only one of the four diesel locomotives was operational, but often broke down.

Despite not having been paid for over three months, the staff continued to operate the line, repairing the locomotive when required and attempting to obtain fuel for it.

[23] Construction started when Nepali Congress leader Bimalendra Nidhi was Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport in the Sushil Koirala cabinet.

[5][24][25] The job of rebuilding the tracks and stations was awarded to Ircon International, and was funded by a grant of NPR 8.77 billion from the Indian Government.

Construction of the final 17 kilometres (11 mi) from Bijalpura to Bardibas was dependant on the Nepalese government making the land available.

They bought two 5-car diesel-electric multiple units from the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, paid for by the Nepali government.

[29][30] The second section from Kurtha to Bijalpura was formally opened by Prakash Jwala, Nepal's Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport on 16 July 2023, during a visit to Janakpur.