Thar Express

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Thar Express
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
First service18 February 2006 (2006-02-18)
Last serviceAugust 8, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-08-08)
Current operator(s)North Western Railway zone of Indian Railways
& Pakistan Railways
Route
TerminiBhagat Ki Kothi (Jodhpur)
Karachi Cantonment
Stops4
Distance travelled709 kilometres (441 mi)
Average journey time13 hours, 5 minutes
Service frequencyWeekly
On-board services
Class(es)Economy
Sleeping arrangementsNot available
Catering facilitiesNot available
Technical
Track gauge1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)

The Thar Express was an international passenger train that ran between the Bhagat Ki Kothi a suburban area of Jodhpur in the Indian State of Rajasthan and Karachi Cantonment of Karachi in the Pakistani Province of Sindh. The name of the train is derived from the Thar Desert a sub-continental desert, which lies in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent and ranks 17th in the world covering an area of 200,000 km2 (77,000 sq mi).[1]

It was the second train after the Samjhauta Express for direct connectivity between India and Pakistan on the basis of Simla Agreement after the restoring of the Jodhpur–Hyderabad rail route which was closed for 41 years till 2006.[2]

As of 9 August 2019, the Thar Express had been cancelled until further notice due to escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.[3]

History

See also: North Western Railway zone § History, and Hyderabad–Khokhrapar Branch Line
Map showing Rail link from Jodhpur to Singh, Imperial Gazetteer of India 1909.

During British rule, in 1892, the Hyderabad–Jodhpur Railway constructed the Jodhpur–Hyderabad mainline within two sections. The first section was Luni–Shadipalli section, which was a metre-gauge section line and the second section was Shadipalli–Hyderabad section, which was originally constructed as a 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)

metre gauge in the year 1901 and joined the first section of the mainline.[4][5]

Extent of Indian railway network in 1909

During the year 1901, the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 led to the closure of all passenger train links. During that time, the rail track was bombed and destroyed by the Pakistani fighter jets, and the Bombay–Karachi train ended.[6][7][8]

On 28 June 1976, India and Pakistan signed the rail communication agreement to normalize the relations between two nations after signing the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, when the bilateral relations had soured after the Indian Army had succeeded in liberating Bangladesh. This agreement forms the basis of running Samjhauta Express also the Delhi–Lahore Bus and Srinagar–Muzaffarabad Bus are based on a separate agreement.[citation needed
]

On the Indian side, the Jodhpur–Munabao line was totally converted into 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)

Zero Point railway station was also developed in the year 2006, a few hundred meters from the border, where immigration and customs checks are currently carried out. This enabled both the nations to sign an MoU to reopen the rail link. This was not possible earlier because there would be a change of gauge in between, either at Hyderabad or Mirpur Khas. Prior to 1965, the last Pakistani station was Khokhropar, about 10 kilometers from the border.[citation needed
]

After gauge conversion of both nations, on 18 February 2006, the rail service of Thar Express was inaugurated on the basis of Simla Agreement and became the second route for connecting both nations after Samjhauta Express[9] also the renewable rail communication agreement was regularly extended by both nations and the last extension was from 19 January 2016 to 18 January 2019.[10][11]

Route and operations

Karachi Cantonment railway station, the destination point of the train, where return journey begins.[12]

Thar Express runs weekly with two portions. It travels totally around 709 km (441 mi) to reach Karachi from Jodhpur with a total average time of 23 hours 5 minutes to cover the entire stretch of

–Karachi. The entire stretch is covered by broad-gauge diesel locomotives. There are only one major river crossing, the more than 100 year old Kotri Bridge over the Indus River
. this river crossing occurs in Pakistan.

In this, the first portion of Thar Express which runs at the Indian side are also named as Thar Link Express operates by

Zero Point with the rakes of ICF coach of Indian Railways and locomotive for an end to end journey in both directions with the following combination, L-SLR-S1-S2-S3-S4-S5-S6-S7-SLR (L – locomotive, SLR Seating cum luggage rake, S – Seating rake).[6]

Similarly, the second portion of the Thar Express runs at the Pakistan side from Zero Point through Hyderabad Junction to Karachi Cantonment with the rakes of Pakistan Railways and locomotive for an end to end journey in both directions with the same combination.[13]

Train schedule

Train departures are as follows:

Route Section Day Train no. Rake
Jodhpur to Karachi
Zero Point
 Saturday 14889 IR
Zero Point to Karachi Cantonment
 Saturday 406 PR
Karachi to Jodhpur
Zero Point
 Friday 405 PR
Zero Point to Bhagat Ki Kothi (Jodhpur
)		 Saturday 14890 IR

This train service is reliable and the Indian portion of train begins its journey from

Mirpur Khas Junction and Hyderabad Junction reaches Karachi Cantonment
at 12:45 AM PKT.

Similarly, on returning the Pakistan portion of train begins its journey from Karachi Cantonment with time at 11:45 PM PKT with halts at Hyderabad Junction and Mirpur Khas Junction reaches Zero Point at 07:20 AM PKT for Pakistan immigration and customs checks. During that time the Indian portion train arrives on the station for boarding the passengers and leaves at 12:00 PM PKT crosses India–Pakistan border and reaches Munabao for Indian Immigration and customs checks, thereafter it leaves at 07:00 PM IST without any halts reaches Bhagat Ki Kothi (Jodhpur) at 11:50 PM IST.[14][15]

Stations

References

  1. ^ Mughal, Owais (29 October 2004). "Pakistan Railway Train Names". IRFCA. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  2. ^ Rail Agreement of India and Pakistan, Retrieved 20 August 2020
  3. ^ hindustantimes.com, Retrieved 21 August 2020
  4. ^ "Administration Report on the Railways in India – corrected up to 31st March 1918"; Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta; page 188; Retrieved 6 Feb 2016
  5. ^ "IR History: Part III (1900-1947)". IRFCA. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Greater Kashmir news".
  7. ^ How to get to Pakistan, The Hindu, 12 May 2017
  8. ^ "[IRFCA] Indian Railways FAQ: Geography : International". IRFCA.
  9. ^ zeenews.india.com, Retrieved 21 August 2020
  10. ^ economicetimes.com, Retrieved 21 August 2020
  11. ^ Cross-Border Rail Link Restored After 40 Years International Railway Journal April 2006 page 2
  12. ^ "Thar Express escapes blast near Karachi - GEO.tv". Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  13. ^ Ask, created by. "Thar Express Train Timing Karachi Mirpur Zero Point". www.railpk.com.
  14. ^ "14889/Thar Link Express – IRCTC Fare Enquiry". Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  15. ^ Fare Table of Thar Express, Retrieved 20 August 2020
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