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| Thar Express popular among Indians, Pakistanis | | | NEW DELHI, JULY 14: The Thar Express has created a record of sorts as more than 21,000 people have travelled on the train since the resumption of the Munabao-Khokhrapar rail route in February last, after a gap of 40 years. Statistics available with the Delhi-based Rail Bhavan, in the last five months, 11,371 passengers from Pakistan came to India, while 10,865 passengers from India travelled to Pakistan.
The popularity of the Thar Express can be gauged by the fact that in the last three trips from Pakistan more than 3,000 passengers have travelled on the train, causing serious logistics problems at the Munabao railway station which does not have the infrastructure to handle such large number of people.
On June 5, the train took 36 hours to complete its to and fro journey instead of 21 hours, which claimed the life of a Pakistani national who died at the Munabao station following a heart attack. On that day the Thar Express arrived at the Munabao station from Pakistan at 5.30pm instead 1pm — four and a half hours behind schedule — and the death of the Pakistan national caused further delay in its departure to Pakistan.
A senior official in Delhi's Rail Bhavan told EARLY TIMES that the Indian authorities had to write to their Pakistan counterparts about the overcrowding on the train. Finally, the Pakistani government directed railway authorities to restrict passengers to 366 on the train from June 30.
Now, only 366 passengers including 55 in first class would be allowed in the seven-coach train, which has two first class and five economy class coaches. The Indian Railways have also decided to reduce the number of passengers on the train from July 15.
People say that the Thar Express is very popular among Indians and Pakistanis as the travel on the train costs just Rs500 to Rs600 as against Rs20,000 by air. Indian Railways charges Rs186 for second class reserved and Rs66 for general coach as the fare of Jodhpur to Munabao and Pakistan also charges similar amount for travelling on the Thar Express.
The Indian Railway Board has asked the North-Western Railways to prepare a feasibility report for extending the train to Ajmer, where thousands of Pakistanis visit every year to pray at the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti. The North-Western Railways have also being asked to prepare a new timetable.
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