Rajendra Nagar, Raxaul

Raxaul is a sub-divisional town in the East Champaran district of the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated at the India-Nepal border with Birgunj city (Nepal). Raxaul is a major railway junction.
The other part of Raxaul is Mehsi where litchis are sold all over the world.

The Indian border town of Raxaul has become one of the busiest towns for heavy transportation due to high trade volume. Almost 56% of the total products of Birgunj are exported to the Indian state of Bihar through this route.

Demographics

India census, Raxaul Bazar had a population of 104,532. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Raxaul Bazar has an average literacy rate of 75.62%, higher than the state average of 61.80%: male literacy is 82.14%, and female literacy is 68.25%. In Raxaul Bazar, 16.21% of the population is under 6 years of age. People communicate with each other in the Bhojpuri language.

History

Earlier the name of the town is used to be Falejarganj.
During the colonial era, Raxaul emerged as a crucial frontier town in the Champaran region of Bihar, shaped by the broader dynamics of British imperial policy on the India–Nepal border. Key points include:

1. Post-Treaty of Sugauli (1816):

Following the Anglo-Nepal War, the Treaty of Sugauli established the boundary between Nepal and British India. Raxaul’s location on this newly demarcated border made it a natural gateway for the movement of goods, people, and administrative control between the two territories.

2. Rise as a Trade and Transport Hub:

As the British colonial administration sought to regulate trade and secure the border, Raxaul developed into an important customs and transport center. With the construction of railway lines—most notably the Sugauli–Raxaul line built in 1896—the town became a major railway junction. This connectivity facilitated heavy cross-border trade, with a significant volume of goods (including those from Nepal’s Birgunj) passing into Bihar.

3. Administrative and Policing Challenges:

The porous nature of the border led to a mix of legal and illegal activities. The colonial authorities established several border posts and searching stations in the surrounding districts (such as Patna, Champaran, and Muzaffarpur) to monitor and control smuggling—especially of arms and opium. Raxaul, by virtue of its strategic position, was central to these efforts. At the same time, the town witnessed organized criminal activities like mail robberies and cattle lifting, highlighting the difficulties in enforcing colonial rule over such a fluid and challenging border region.

4. Impact of Shifting Geography:

The region’s landscape—dominated by the terai with its dense forests and ever-changing river courses—compounded the task of rigid border demarcation. This inherent instability required the colonial administration to adopt flexible, often transactional, methods of border management. Raxaul’s evolution as a trade center was directly influenced by these geographical challenges and the need to negotiate them on a day-to-day basis.

Transport

Raxaul is the only city that is connected with Nepal. Birgunj railway station is connected by the Nepal Government Railway (NGR) to Raxaul Junction railway station in Bihar across the border with India. The railway extends north to Amlekhganj in Nepal. It was built in 1927 by the British but discontinued beyond Birgunj in December 1965. The 6 km (3.7 mi) railway track from Raxaul to Birgunj was converted to broad gauge two years after the Indian railways converted the track to Raxaul inside India to broad gauge. Now, broad gauge railway line connects Raxaul to the Sirsiya (Birgunj) Inland Container Depot (ICD) which became fully operational in 2005. Talks have been held to reopen the railway route from Birgunj to Amlekhganj in Nepal by converting it to broad gauge because of its socio-economic importance.

Rail

Raxaul Junction railway station is situated on the Delhi – Gorakhpur - Raxaul - Chakia - Muzaffarpur - Kolkata lines.

Raxaul is connected to several cities in Bihar with daily passenger trains. There are multiple daily connections to Muzaffarpur, Sugauli, Chakia, Bairgania and Sitamarhi and daily connections to Bagaha, Hajipur, Samastipur, Motihari and Narkatiaganj.

Daily express trains connect to Delhi with stops in major cities in Uttar Pradesh including Gorakhpur and Bareilly. Kolkata is also connected by a daily express train ; the train being 13021 Howrah Raxaul Mithila Express.

There are also direct trains to Lucknow and Varanasi with stops in several towns in Uttar Pradesh. Chhapra, Patna, chakia, Jabalpur, Mumbai, Darbhanga, Barauni, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Ranchi, Rourkela, Bilaspur, Raipur, Nagpur and Hyderabad are also connected by weekly or multiple weekly trains.

Delhi is connected via Satyagraha Express and Sadbhawna Express. Earlier, all tracks were metre gauge but most have been converted to broad gauge. After the completion of the gauge conversion from Darbhanga to Raxaul via Sitamarhi, another broad gauge route to Raxaul became available from March 2014. The metre gauge track from Raxaul to Narkatiaganj converted in 2018/august.03 pair passenger trains operated in this route.

Road

Raxaul is connected to major cities of India by National Highway 28A.

It is the main route to Nepal. The capital of Nepal, Kathmandu is connected with India through this highway. There is a bus terminal from where buses are available for most of the cities in Bihar and Jharkhand.

Airlines and destinations

Raxaul Airport (ICAO: VERL) is located at BHARATMAHI Raxaul in the state of Bihar, India. The Majority of Land For Airport was Gifted by The Family of Shri Raja Ram Prasad.Still lives in The village Of bharatmahi.It was established after the Sino-Indian War of 1962, when it served as an emergency landing ground for the Indian Army. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) that owns the airport has undertaken a pre-feasibility study at the airport to upgrade the airport to handle ATR-72 aircraft. A draft Master Plan highlighting a requirement of an additional 121 acres of land has been submitted to the State Government.

Now, there is currently no scheduled commercial air service. Raxaul can be reached by flying to Simara in Nepal. That airport is 27 km from Raxaul and has direct flights to Kathmandu. A proposal to operationalize the airport for civilian use has been drafted.

Border crossing

India and Nepal have an open border with no restrictions on movement of their nationals and no need of visa or passport documents for local people. There is a customs checkpoint for goods and third country nationals. There are Jeeps, Cars, Tempos (Three wheels vehicles), and the Tangas (Horse Driven 6 seater Rickshaws) from Raxaul station for Birganj bus park.

River

Sariswa River

The river, Sariswa (Sirsiya), a tributary of the Burhi Gandak, originates from Pathlahia hill of the dense Ramban forests in Nepal, its course roaming through the subdivision cutting through Bara and Parsa districts in Nepal and Raxaul in Bihar, India. It flows southwards from the place of its origin for about 15 km in Nepal and then enters India at Raxaul. From here, the river flows about 20 km in India and joins Burhi Gandak near Sugauli in East Champaran district. The water is pure in its contents and have full of medicinal values like other Himalayan rivers. It maintains its valuable contents till Parwanipur. But after it, unrestrained untreated wastes are being dumped by the 46 factories situated at Birgunj (Nepal) which make this river contaminated. The colour of the river turned into black besides, emanating foul smell has made the life of the people, who dwell near the river, a nightmare.

Canal

The Triveni Canal was constructed in 1979. It is mainly used for irrigation in northwest Bihar.The Triveni Canal is located near Raxaul in Bihar, India. It is a canal that was built on the Gandak River to provide irrigation to the Champaran district of Bihar.

Bangari River

It is the neighbor river of Sariswa (Sirsiya) river.
* Adapur, Bihar
* Birganj, Nepal
* East Champaran district

Villages in Raxaul Block, Purbi Champaran, Bihar

According to the 2011 Census of India, Raxaul Block in Purbi Champaran district, Bihar, comprises the following 43 villages.

List of Villages

References

{{Railway lines in Eastern India

Cities and towns in East Champaran district
Transit and customs posts along the India–Nepal border
Points for exit and entry of nationals from third countries along the India–Nepal border