The North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) will run a Kathmandu-Siliguri bus service for the first time from Wednesday.

Firhad Hakim, the state transport minister, will flag off the service, sources said.

Bookings will start on Tuesday for this route. A new counter has been opened to book tickets at the Siliguri Tenzing Norgay bus terminus.

Samiran Mandal, the managing director of the Siliguri Tenzing Norgay bus terminus, confirmed the launch date. “The bus service along this route will start from Wednesday,” he said.

“This service will be available three days a week, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The bus will start at around 3pm every day but on the launch day it will start at 1pm,” said a source.

“The 45-seater bus will run from Siliguri to Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, and the price of the ticket will start from Rs 1,500,” he added.

The distance between Nepal’s capital and Siliguri is around 480km which normally takes around 11 hours to cover.

Parthapratim Roy, the chairman of the NBSTC, had earlier said that he would run a bus from Siliguri to Kathmandu in June.

Sources said that the initial date to launch this service was June 22 but it was again postponed to June 26 owing to certain administrative delays.

“However, July 6 is now the final date,” said a source.

“NBSTC buses have previously operated in other states of India. However, this is going to be the first bus service on an international route,” said the chairman.

Nepal is a popular tourist destination for many in north Bengal.

“The authorities hope that the company's revenue will increase further if the bus service between Siliguri and Kathmandu is launched,” said a source.