The Thar Express train to Pakistan, suspended since unprecedented rains in Rajasthan damaged railway tracks last year, will resume transporting travellers across the border on Saturday.
JODHPUR: The Thar Express train to Pakistan, suspended since unprecedented rains in Rajasthan damaged railway tracks last year, will transport the first batch of travellers in six months across the border on Saturday.
The train, which connects Khokrapar in Pakistan's Sindh province to Munabao in Rajasthan, will start on Friday night and cross the border in the desert district of Barmer early on Saturday morning.
"The North Western Railway (NWR) announced the resumption of the Thar Express a few days ago and all arrangements have been made for the resumption of the peace train," said a senior railway official.
According to a fresh notification issued by the NWR, the train will leave the Jodhpur station at 1 am every Saturday and arrive at Munabao at 7 am.
After custom and immigration formalities, it will cross the border for Pakistan's zero line railway station at 10 am. It will arrive in Khokrapar at 11 am and come back to Munabao at 1 pm.
"Over the past three days, NWR sold 60 tickets for the train and bookings will remain open till the departure of train tonight," officials said.
The train's resumption has generated enthusiasm among people on both sides of the border.
Abhay Singh Sodha, a teacher in Pakistan's Amarkot district who is visiting relatives, said, "I am going home after six months. When the route was blocked, I applied for an extended visa because I did not want to travel by the Atari route. Thank god the train is going to start now. It will help the reunion of many families like mine living on either side of the border," he said.
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