KATHMANDU, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Nepal has targeted to operate the country's first ever broad-gauge passenger railway service from Nepal's South-Eastern Janakpur town to Jayanagar, bordering town of India starting from December this year, a senior official of Department of Railway (DoR) said on Tuesday.

This is a section of 69km Nepal-India cross border railway line from Jayanagar to Nepal's South Eastern region. The other five cross-border railway lines between the two neighbors are either being constructed or planned.

There was an operation of Janakpur-Jaynagar railway service in the past but on a narrow gauge line. But the service came to a complete halt around five years ago after renovation and upgrading works began.

The railway tracks are being laid currently on Janakpur-Jaynagar section and Nepal does not have any operating railway service for now.

Prakash Bhakta Upadhyay, senior divisional engineer at the DoR told Xinhua on Tuesday that they planned to take rail carriages on a lease from India shortly to start operation of railway service.

Under the wet lease, Nepal will hire Indian crew members to operate the service as the Himalayan country does not have necessary human resources to operate the broad gauge railway service, according to DoR.