The Friendship Express Back on Track

"There is more to it than meets the eye. It's not just a mechanical restoration. This time it is happening in the context of a new ambiance, a new spirit." - Former Pakistani Foreign Secretary Tanvir Ahmed Khan(2004)

People bid farewell to passengers on the Samjhauta Express.

The historic partition of 1947 which tore apart the newborn nations, India and Pakistan, led to the termination of almost all existing transportation ties between the two newly independent countries.

Since the beginning of time, trains have been an indispensable mode of transit. Ever since the launching of the first train between the two neighbouring countries on July 22, 1976, services stopped several times due to tensions from the two nations. But they have always, invariably resumed the running of the train. The Samjhauta Express is the physical manifestation of the tense yet coexisting relationship that the two countries share. As the name of the express suggests, this relationship is built on delicate compromise.

After the Shimla Agreement of 1972, in an offer to reestablish peace ties after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the two countries successfully launched the Samjhauta Express in 1976, which translates to ‘friendship express’. It is a bi-weekly train that runs between Delhi and Attari in India and Lahore in Pakistan, a total distance of 502 km.

Still, on one hand, the train serves as a beautiful symbol of unity; the shuttling of people, who left their childhood homes and relatives on either side, the interchange and mingling of the ironically similar cultures. On the other hand, if the train is destroyed or attacked, the vicious blame-game repeats itself and what little trust was built is thrown out the window.

As it was seen on January 1, 2001, the Samjhauta Express halted its routine trail for the first time. This was brought on after an attack on the federal parliament in Delhi. Thankfully, after both nations signed the 2003 ceasefire agreement, things went back to relative normality. The Friendship Express began its travel once more on January 15, 2004; after nearly three years of laying stagnant.