January 05, 2008	Saturday	Zilhaj 25, 1428

KARACHI, Jan 4: Thar Express, which takes passengers between India and Pakistan, left here for Zero Point late on Friday evening after remaining suspended for a week.

Thar Express is a weekly service and leaves the city every Friday, arriving at the border checkpoint of Zero Point early on Saturday morning. From Zero Point it starts its return journey late on Saturday evening and arrives in the city on Sunday morning.

Last week due to the countrywide turmoil following the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, which crippled the railway network, the service was suspended.

Responding to Dawn’s queries, Railways Divisional Superintendent at Karachi Mir Mohammad Khaskheli said as the railways operations were returning to normality, Thar Express, with India-bound passengers on board, left the city on Friday evening.

Railway sources said that with the cancellation of Thar Express last week hundreds of Pakistan-bound passengers, who had gathered at Jodhpur (Rajasthan) on Thursday and Friday, remained stranded at the station.

Pakistan-bound passengers from all over India have to come to Jodhpur from where the train to Munabao, the Indian border checkpoint, leaves.

Mr Khaskheli said 10 to 12 trains left the city for upcountry destinations while a similar number of trains from upcountry arrived here. Efforts were being made to completely restore the train operations so that normal traffic could resume, he said, adding that before the recent turmoil 27 trains left the city everyday.

In reply to another question, he said that owing to the extensive damage to the communication system, trains were running late and the travel time between Karachi and Lahore had increased by seven to eight hours.