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Munabao rail station work completed
by Vikram Vishal

    Munabao (Rajasthan): India and Pakistan will finalise today the activation of the "Thar Express', the train service between Munabao in Rajasthan and Khokhrapar in Pakistan's Sindh province. Meanwhile, preparations at the Munabao Railway Station have been completed. The is all set to welcome the first batch of passengers after a gap of 41 years. A trial run has been done.

   S.B. Bhattacharya, the General Manager of North Western Railway, said the railway officials were prepared and "just waiting for the date' to restore the service which was snapped 41 years ago during the 1965 war between India and Pakistan. "The restoration of the service meant conversion of the link, development of the Munabao terminal and providing other necessary services. When the decision to re-establish the service was taken earlier last year, we set December as the deadline for the work. However, the work was completed by November itself and we conducted the trail run in December," said Bhattacharya. In the first month when the rail service begins, Bhattacharya said that they were expecting about 50 to 60 percent reservations, adding that the train would initially have six coaches, which would leave from Munabao at 1.30 p.m. (IST) every Friday and would make the return journey on Saturdays. Asserting that elaborate security arrangements have been made for the cross-border train, he said that the train would be heavily guarded and personnel of Railway Police Force (RPF) would also board it till the zero point. Roads on both sides of the track from Munabao to the border have also been constructed for Border Security Force (BSF) jeeps to accompany the train from Munabao to the border to prevent smuggling or attacks en route. Besides, security posts have been built around the station, and floodlights and three-metre high fences have also been erected parallel to the tracks. Passengers will be able to go on platform number one only after undergoing a thorough security check at the platform number two, Bhattacharya added.

    Briefing the media about the newly constructed Munabao Station, Senior Deputy Manager and Chief Vigilance Officer, NWR, S.B. Gandhi, said that the station had all the facilities of an international airport. "The arrangement here can handle about 500 passengers from either side simultaneously. We have 10 counters for customs check and six for immigration check. Besides, bank, money exchange and separate toilet facilities for ladies, gents and physically challenged passengers are also there," said Gandhi. All these facilities in addition to two waiting halls of size 45x11.7 metres with TV and music systems, provision for food plaza, VIP langue will be available on the platform number two. Tickets, which will be given manually in the initial period, will be available only at Jodhpur. Interestingly, two tickets will be given for the journey from Jodhpur to Mirpur Khas in Pakistan. The first ticket will be from Jodhpur to the Zero Point and the second from the Zero Point till the train's last destination. The rail link between the two countries was stopped when Pakistani fighter jets bombed the tracks that linked the two countries during the1965 war.. Prior to that, the train on this route used to be between Karachi to Mumbai via Munabao. However, during the war of 1971 between Indian and Pakistan, there was a temporary link-up to facilitate the movement of the armed forces. But as a part of the confidence building measures between the two sides, both the governments decided last year to restore the link for passenger service. Munabao has negligible a civilian population. Jaisalmer surrounds it in the north, Jalore in the south, Jodhpur in the east and Pakistan in the west. Akali is the nearest village to Munabao, which is about 3.5 kilometres away. Panchala, Jaisendra, Akhirani and Hamirani are some if the other nearby villages.
-Jan 30, 2006

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