Thar Express reaches last station on Indian side of border

New Delhi: The Karachi-bound Thar Express with 165 passengers on-board has reached Munabao station on the Indian side of the border with Pakistan on Saturday morning, officials said.

The passengers are currently undergoing customs clearance following which it will move towards zero point station which is on the International Border, they said.

Among the 165 passengers, 81 are Indians, who are visiting their relatives in Pakistan. Eighty-four Pakistan nationals are returning to their country after completion of their visa limit in India, a railway official has said.

The train from Pakistan has also reached zero point and is expected to depart as per the schedule, a spokesperson for North Western Railway said.

The train from Bhagat Ki Kothi station in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur left at 1 am and reached Munabao at 6.55 am, the officials said.

The Thar Express has been running between Jodhpur and Karachi every Friday night since services resumed on February 18, 2006 after a 41-year suspension.

From Pakistan, the train travels from Karachi to zero point where the passengers change trans.

The train from Pakistan has reached zero point at 10 am, the officials said.

According to estimates, over four lakh passengers have taken the train in the past 13 years.

Pakistan on Friday said that it has suspended all train services to India. Pakistan’s Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed announced in Islamabad that this would be the last Jodhpur-Karachi train.