LAHORE, Feb 6: Operations of the Thar Express, which runs between Munabao and Zero Point, will resume on Feb 17.

"The Indian authorities have now conveyed that rail traffic on the Monabao and Khokhrapar sector will resume from Feb 17," said the minister for railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad on Tuesday.

The Pakistan Railways was not willing for only freight service on the section. "We have spent about Rs2 billion to facilitate the families on both sides of the border," the minister reiterated.

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