Samjhauta Express reaches Delhi after a delay of nearly five hours

The Samjhauta Express train, plying between India and Pakistan, reached the national capital on Friday morning, after Pakistan in a sudden move suspended the train services and refused to proceed from the Wagah border.

The announcement was made by Pakistan Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Thursday that Pakistan had closed the train services. The train was stranded at Wagah shortly afterwards and India had to dispatch an engine with a crew and guard to bring it back from the border checkpoint.

The train departed from the Attari Railway Station at around 1.30 am and reached the national capital after a delay of nearly five hours carrying a total of 117 passengers, 76 Indian and 41 Pakistani nationals.

Samjhauta Express was scheduled to reach the Delhi Railway Station at 3.35 am but was late by four hours and thirty minutes.

Indian Railway dispatched an engine, a driver and crew to bring back Samjhauta Express after it was stranded at Wagah. It is reported that the Pakistani crew had refused to proceed into India citing security concerns.

The Superintendent of Attari Railway station, Arvind Kumar Gupta, said that the train was scheduled to reach India on early Thursday afternoon but reached Attari station only by evening after an Indian crew - with an engine - brought it back. 

Ahmed had said that bogies of the train would now be used for Pakistani passengers travelling on the occasion of Eid.

The move comes days after the Narendra Modi government scrapped Article 370, Article 35A and bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories (UTs) with two Lieutenant Governors. While Jammu and Kashmir will have a legislature, Ladakh will be a UT without a legislature.

The train service was suspended earlier this year after tensions escalated between the two neighbours following the Pulwama attack and Balakot strike in February.