Rakes used in Samjhuta Express yet to be returned

Railway carriage belonging to India stranded at Wagah for past two years

LAHORE:

Owing to the suspension of Samjhauta Express – a bi-weekly rail service between Pakistan and India – railway carriages remain stranded on either side for the past two years.

Pakistan had suspended the train services due to tense relations between the two countries after India revoked the autonomous status of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK) by nullifying Article 370 of its constitution.

The halting of the train has not only caused inconvenience to the common passengers but is also piling up financial losses in terms of revenue due to the closure of freight trains, sources said.

Meanwhile, the rakes are lying at borders for the past two years with apparently no appetite in the governments to exchange them.

The two countries, when the train service is operational, take turns of six months each to use their rakes for the Samjhauta Express. Rakes belonging to Pakistan are used from January to June while Indian rakes are used from July to December.

The carriages are usually returned to the home country the same day or after an overnight stay.

However, this time around the rakes remain stranded, sources said, adding that around 10 railway carriages (bogies) belonging to the Indian Railways have been stuck in Wagah.

According to details, almost nine coaches belonging to a Pakistani freight train are also stuck in India since the suspension of the service.

On the other hand, with the suspension of the service, both Muslim and Sikh pilgrims from either side of the border have also been bearing the brunt of strained relations between the two countries.

Started on July 22, 1976, under the Simla Agreement to improve people-to-people connections between the two countries, the train service ran from Lahore to Attari. Initially, the 936-seat train had a three-year contract. In July 1991, another agreement was signed between India and Pakistan and the service was resumed.

In May 1994, the schedule of the Samjhauta Express – according to which the train used to run on a daily basis – was changed and the train started a bi-weekly service. The train used to go from Lahore to Delhi but later its travel distance was reduced and Attari was made the last station.

It is pertinent to note that apart from the Samjhauta Express, Pakistan also decided to halt the Thar Express which ran from Khokhrapar town in Thar, Pakistan, to India’s Munabao village located in the Rajasthan desert.