December 19, 2003	Friday	Shawwal 24, 1424

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NEW DELHI, Dec 18: The Samjhota Express train, linking the border checkposts of Wagah and Atari between India and Pakistan, is expected to resume next month, officials said on Thursday after a first round of talks between the two sides.

They said Pakistan was seeking the resumption of the train service from Jan 1, while the Indian side was offering to begin the cheapest and most popular travel link between the two countries from February.

A final decision could be taken on Friday and officials said the train service could in fact resume by mid-January.

Pakistani officials said technical details concerning the logistics of the train had been worked out between officials of the Indian and Pakistani railways. They would meet again on Friday to “fine tune” their perceptions to arrive at a common date to resume the journey.