The competition between two Asian giants, India and China, for influence over tiny Nepal is yielding a bonanza in the form of the Himalayan mountain nation's first modern railway. New shiny rails connecting the 34 kilometres (21 miles) between Janakpur in southeastern Nepal and Jay Nagar in the Indian state of Bihar are raising hopes for more business and pilgrimages. The railway is India's latest stake in a bidding war with China for supremacy in South Asia.