Samjhauta Express to remain cancelled on October 11, 12 due to rail blockade

New Delhi: The Samjhauta Express was cancelled for the second time on Saturday, even as the rail blockade by the agitating farmers of Punjab continue to paralyse train operations.

The '14001 Delhi-Attari Express' scheduled to leave Old Delhi station on October 11 and '14002 Attari-Delhi Express' scheduled to leave Attari on October 12 will remain cancelled, said a Northern Railway statement.

The passengers of this train board/deboard at Attari. Therefore, the '14608 Lahore-Attari' and '14607 Attari-Lahore Samjhauta Express' will remain cancelled on October 12, he said.

The rail route between Delhi-Amritsar has been blocked by the farmers, who have been agitating against the Punjab government over failed cotton crops due to the white-fly attack. Besides Samjhauta Express, several trains like New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabadi were also affected due to the continued agitation.

The ongoing 'Rail Roko' agitation in Punjab has caused a whopping financial loss of Rs 100 crore to the Railways, even as more than 550 trains have so far been hit in the four-day long farmers' stir.

As per the arrangement between India and Pakistan, the passengers coming from Pakistan travel to Delhi by the '14002 Attari Delhi Express', which runs on Thursday and Monday.

Those bound for Pakistan arrive at Attari by the '14001 Delhi Attari Express' which leaves the national capital on every Wednesday and Sunday.

The train runs non-stop between Delhi and Attari from where the passengers board the Attari Wagaha Link Express with Attari being in India and Wagha in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, over 200 Indian and Pakistani passengers of Samjhauta Express were on Friday stranded at the Wagah railway station for over five hours after the train was not allowed to leave for Attari.