History of Samjhauta Express( Friendship Express)
The Samjhauta Express (Hindi: समझौता एक्सप्रेस, Urdu: سمجھوتا اکسپريس) commonly called the Friendship Express, is a twice-weekly train – Tuesdays and Fridays – that runs between Delhi and Attari in India and Lahore in Pakistan. The word samjhauta means "Understanding", "accord" and "compromise" in both Hindi and Urdu.
Until the reopening of the Thar Express, this was the only rail connection between the two countries. The train was started on July 22, 1976 following the Shimla Agreement and ran between Amritsar and Lahore, a distance of about...
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42 km. Following disturbances in Punjab in the late eighties, due to security reasons Indian Railways decided to terminate the service at Attari, where customs and immigration clearances take place. On April 14, 2000, in an agreement between Indian Railways and Pakistan Railways (PR), the distance was revised to cover just under three km.
It was a daily train when the service started, and changed to a bi-weekly schedule in 1994. Earlier the rakes were returned to the home country the same day but later in 2000 the rake remained overnight at that location.
Its termini are Lahore in Pakistan and Delhi in India. The border crossing takes place between Wagah in Pakistan and Attari in India. Originally, this was a through service with the same rake going all the way between the termini; later the Pakistani rake stopped at Attari at which point passengers had to change trains. The train service was set up with an agreement between Indian Railways (IR) and Pakistan Railways (PR) to alternately use an Indian and a Pakistani rake and locomotive for the train, six months at a time.
The train usually has between four and eight coaches. The rake supplied by Pakistan is usually hauled by an Alco DL-543 class ALU20 diesel loco (Lahore shed), with the entire train in the standard dark green livery of PR.
The train's first break of service was when it was discontinued on January 1, 2002 in the wake of the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001. Service resumed on January 15, 2004. Service was also suspended following the 27 December, 2007, assassination of Benazir Bhutto as a preventive measure to deny militants a “high-value target” that was of great symbolic importance to both India and Pakistan.
2007 bombing
Main article: 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings
In the early hours of February 19, 2007 sixty-eight people (mostly Pakistani civilians and a few Indian military guarding the train) were killed and scores more injured in a terrorist attack on this "Peace Train". The attack occurred at Diwana station near the Indian city of Panipat, Haryana. Officials found evidence of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and flammable material, including three un-detonated IEDs. The National Investigation Agency has stated that the blasts were masterminded by Swami Aseemanand, a Hindu extremist leader. Swami Aseemanand born as Jatin Chatterjee in West Bengal, joined the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, inspired by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in 1978.
On July 1, 2009, the US Department of Treasury designated Arif Qasmani of the Lashkar-e Tayyiba as a person involved in terrorism, citing among other things his involvement in the Samjhauta Express bombing.
On December 30, 2010, National Investigation Agency claimed that they have solid evidence that Swami Aseemanand was the mastermind behind the blasts. He had roped in Sandeep Dange, an engineering graduate, and Ramji Kalsangra, an electrician, to build the improvised explosive devices used in the blasts. On January 8, 2011, Aseemanand allegedly confessed that Saffron terror outfits were behind the bombing of Samjhauta express, a statement later found to be obtained under duress. Later RSS sent a legal notice to CBI accusing it for deliberately leaking Swami Aseemanand's confession in media. RSS spokesman Ram Madavh called the investigation maligning of organizations and individuals.
More about this train.....
The Samjhauta Express is a train that runs between India and Pakistan. The literal meaning of term 'Samjhauta' is 'compromise'. As the name suggests, the train is a mark of understanding between the two countries of the world. Samjhauta Express is one amongst the two trains that connect India with Pakistan, the other being Thar Express. The Samjhauta Express is also called as Friendship Express. It runs twice a week, usually on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Samjhauta Express moves from Delhi on line for Attari, then rushes to Wagah and Lahore in Pakistan. In anticipation of Thar Express, Samjhauta Express had been the only rail connection linking the two countries. On 22 July 1976, the train embarked its first journey from Amritsar to Lahore (42 kms) after the Shimla Agreement. Subsequently, Punjab saw some disturbances in the late 80's owing to security reasons.
As a result of this, Indian Railways planned to terminate the service at Attari to deal with the customs and immigration clearances. In 2000, the agreement between Indian Railways and Pakistan Railways was modified to cover the distance under three kms. Initially, the train had a daily service but it was refreshed to a bi-weekly service in 1994. The rakes used to come back to the home country on the same day until 2000. Now, the rake spends overnight at the destination.
Lahore (Pakistan) and Delhi (India) serve as the terminus of Samjhauta Express. The border crossing and immigration formalities take place at Wagah (Pakistan) and Attari (India). In the beginning, Samjhauta Express had a thorough service along with the same rake moving all the way between the terminuses, soon after the Pakistani rake was required to bung at Attari, where passengers need to change the trains.