Thar Express to depart from Bhagat Ki Koti instead of Jodhpur

Jaipur, Apr 11 (UNI) Thar Express, the train linking Pakistan and India, will be diverted to depart from Bhagat ki Koti instead of Jodhpur railway station in future.

North-Western Railway General Manager Buddh Prakash announced this here at a press conference today on the conclusion of the 52nd Railway week.

The train, however, will terminate at Jodhpur on return journey.

Mr Prakash said departure of a high security train from a busy raliway station like Jodhpur involves lot of inconvenience to the public and security risk.

Considering these factors, the Railways has decided to divert the train to Bhagat ki Koti, Mr Prakash said.

He said though a decision in this regard was taken, the final date has not yet been decided.

He also ruled out any security lapses on the train or on the route. The new general manager said a multi-layer security apparatus has been put in place by the railways, police, CRPF aand BSF jawans to ensure fool proof securty to the train.

The tain links Khokhrapar in Rajasthan to Monabao in Sindh (Pakistan).

He said the Railways is also considering a proposal for the realignment of the tracks in the Barmer district considering the threat posed to the rail lines like the one in Kawas station due to flood as happended last year.

Replying to a question, he said broad gauge lines between Ajmer and Chittorgarh and Kolayath and Phalodi would be fully operational by May 31.

He said the North western railways has recorded an increase of 12 per cent in passenger traffic and reported an increase of 11.7 per cent in revenue during the last fiscal. The revenue increased to Rs 620.76 crore 2006-07 compared to Rs 557.41 crore the previous year.

UNI