LAHORE, Jan 20: Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said on Saturday that Thar Express, running between Monabao and Zero Point, would remain suspended for another eight weeks.

Addressing a press conference here at the PR headquarters, the minister said: “Indian authorities have announced to resume rail traffic on the Monabao and Khokhrapar sector from March 10.”

“It seems there is lack of coordination between the ministry and administration of the Indian railways. The Indian railways ministry had conveyed in the first week of December that the Thar Express operation will resume from Feb 10. Now the Indian railways have conveyed that the operation will resume from March 10,” the minister added.

However, the Pakistan Railways was not ready merely to start the freight service on the section. “We had spent a sum of Rs2 billion to facilitate the families on both sides of the border,” the minister reiterated.

The Thar Express operation between Monabao and Zero Point had to be suspended from Aug 25 when large stretches of track on the Monabao-Barmer-Jodhpur section had submerged under deep water, damaging the track at many places and washing away a culvert.