February 21, 2007	Wednesday	Safar 3, 1428

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LAHORE, Feb 20: The Pakistan Rangers will be responsible for the security of the Samjhota Express from Lahore to the Wagah railway station and vice versa from Feb 22 (tomorrow).

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of senior officials of the Pakistan Railways and Rangers at the Railways Headquarters here on Tuesday.

Railways General Manager (Operations) Asad Saeed and Lahore Divisional Superintendent M Khalid and Rangers Commandant Col Muhammad Ali discussed modalities to tighten security of the international train, without much bothering the passengers.

Rangers will check coaches of the train and luggage of the passengers at Lahore and guard and escort the train up to Wagah.

The doors of passenger coaches will not be locked either from inside or outside as has been the practice so far. The decision comes in wake of the train fire near Panipat where the death toll soared because of the sealing of the doors. The Indian authorities are yet to address this vital issue because the major part of the Lahore-Delhi route falls in India.

The Pakistan Rangers will also ensure that the number of passengers is not more than the seating capacity.

The two sides also agreed to ask the authorities to expedite the pace of development works at the Wagah railway station and ensure the provision of essential facilities there.

A total of 1,039 Samjhota passengers — 712 Pakistanis and 327 Indians — who crossed the border on Monday complained about the lack of basic facilities at Wagah railway station.

The Samjhota Express resumed its once-a-week operation after a break of two years on Jan 15, 2004. The train started running between Lahore and Atari on Mondays and Thursdays from Nov 28 the following year.

The frequency of the train operation was enhanced keeping in view the increased number of passengers under a five-year agreement signed between Pakistan and Indian railway authorities in the third week of December 2003.

At present, the scheduled time of 402-Down Samjhota’s departure from Lahore is 8am and arrival at Wagah 8:35am, departure from Wagah 11:30am and arrival at Atari 11:40am. The 401-Up should leave Atari at 2pm, reach Wagah at 2:10pm and start its journey for Lahore at 4:10pm. The arrival time of the 401-Up at the Lahore railway station is 4:45pm. But the train rarely follows the schedule owing to security and customs learance.

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