New Delhi: The Samjhauta Express which was stopped at the Wagah border by Pakistani authorities Thursday reached Delhi station at 8.00 am Friday, four-and-a-half hours behind schedule, the Railways said in a statement. The train that runs between Indian and Pakistan came with 117 passengers, including 48 Pakistanis.
These passengers were stranded Thursday at Wagah on the Pakistani side after it was stopped there by the neighbouring country’s authorities citing security concerns. The Indian Railways then sent one engine along with crew and guard to escort the train from Wagah to Attari on the Indian side. From Attari, the train left around 8.00 pm Thursday, officials said.
Hundreds of passengers from both sides of the border were stuck Thursday for several hours waiting for security clearances following the disruption in the train service that connects Delhi and Lahore.
After several hours of waiting, the Samjhauta Express headed for Lahore departed from Attari at 6:41 pm with 103 passengers, including 10 Pakistanis, Railway officials had said.
A day after Islamabad downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi over developments in Jammu and Kashmir, Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told the media Thursday in Islamabad that Pakistan has closed the Samjhauta Express train service with India.
However, railway officials here said the train service has not been suspended.
PTI
