There were stories. Stories which were so painful to be heard. But one thing was common in all of them. The Reason. Partition. On 14 August 1947, One Enormous & Prosperous Country was divided into two nations. Among the quarrel between nations, Those who got most affected were the people living in the border areas. Transportation between the two which was common earlier had completely vanished now. The Sindh Mail, that used to travel to Ahmedabad via Hyderabad – Mirpur Khas – Khokhrapar – Munabao – Barmer – Luni – Jodhpur – Pali – Marwar – Palanpur. But After partition this train had vanished. The link was destroyed during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
On 18 February 2006, it was revived after a period of 41 years. In the mean time the lines on both sides had been converted from metre gauge to broad gauge. This enabled the train to run from the border right up to Karachi, which was not possible earlier because there would be a change of gauge in between, either at Hyderabad or Mirpur Khas. The Thar Express is the oldest route, however, because it was damaged in the war it remained closed for 41 years. Upon restoration it became the new train service between the two countries.
Now The Pride of Two Nations runs every week. This train runs non stop from the origin till the destination.
Departure from Jodhpur on Saturday at 1 AM and reaches Munabao Zero Line at 7 AM. After Customs, Visa Check it leaves for Pakistan at 2:30 PM and reaches to Karachi Cantonment on Sunday Morning at 2:15 AM.
Departure from Karachi Cantonment every Friday at 11:00 PM and arrives Zero Point at Khokhrapar in Pakistan at 8:00 AM on Saturday morning. After custom and visa check, the train arrives at Munabao (Indian side) around 11:00. Then the passengers have to buy tickets for an Indian train called ‘Thar Link Express’ which departs Munabao at 7:00 PM and arrives at Bhagat ki Kothi in Jodhpur at 11:50 PM on Saturday.
All this Costs for INR Rs. 210 only. This is a blessing for all those who have their relatives and kin on the other side of border. And also for the enthusiasts which want to explore each others country.
And above all THE THAR LINK EXPRESS is Pride Of Rajasthan.
