It was an all too familiar ending to the most recent talks held on railway operations in New Delhi last week: officials from Nepal and India agreed to a third round of meetings. The Nepali officials, who had been looking at making the railway from Kolkata to the Inland Container Depot in Birganj operational by September, have set themselves a November deadline, a full two years after construction of the ICD was completed. Officials said that the recent round of negotiations was helpful in sorting out matters like insuring cargo handling and documentation, but it remains to be decided how customs clearance will be handled. Nepal wants sealed containers to be allowed to the ICD without hassles on the border; India wants to look into the containers before sending them on. The operation of a broad gauge rail between the ICD and the port to Kolkata is estimated to bring transport costs down by 30-40 percent.