Officials from China's National Railway Administration (NRA) informed Nepali officials that China has given high priority to developing cross-border railway connecting Kathmandu and Chinese border town Kerung.

During a meeting between a visiting delegation of NRA and Nepali officials from Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport and the Department of Railway on Monday, the Chinese delegation said the objective of their visit was to start groundwork for the development of the proposed railway.

In response to Nepali officials' inquiry over the issue, Zheng Jian of the NRA said that China has given high priority to the cross border railway with Nepal but also admitted that the proposed railway corridor is most complicated and challenging to build.

"This delegation's priority to start preliminary works including the preliminary feasibility study of the corridor," he said.

The delegation will start a field trip along the proposed railway line from Tuesday and the two sides will be holding another meeting on Friday.

Zheng stressed on the need for a long-term planning and thorough study on all technical aspects and finding major technical solutions to develop the proposed railway.