Pakistan-India Rail Service Is Resumed

Pakistan and India resumed rail service across their border Thursday, and passengers celebrated as they crossed a frontier that had been closed for two years as the nuclear-armed rivals hovered at the brink of war.

The reinstated service comes about two weeks after commercial air flights were restarted, part of confidence-building measures that fueled a thaw allowing the leaders of India and Pakistan to agree to hold peace talks.

Amid tight security, the Samjhauta Express headed south from the Pakistani city of Lahore to India, with trains from New Delhi heading in the opposite direction.

About 75 passengers entered India and about 250 crossed into Pakistan. Some chanted “Long live Pakistan-India friendship!” and others threw rose petals on border guards as the train from Pakistan crossed over.

In both cases, the trains stopped at the Indian border town of Attari for immigration checks.

Many passengers were visiting family members on the other side of the border.

Shamma Parveen, a 24-year-old Indian woman married to a Pakistani, who traveled to India to see her mother, could barely contain her excitement.

“Right after I stepped into the train, I felt as if I had hugged my mother,” she said.

And as the Indian train pulled up to Lahore’s colonial-era station, hundreds of people rushed forward to greet the arriving passengers, showering them with flower petals.

“We hope that this train will never stop,” said Najma Begum, 41. She had come to Pakistan to attend a family wedding in the southern city of Karachi.

“Let me call this a peace train,” she said.

The twice-weekly train service was popular among families separated when the nations gained independence from Britain in 1947.

But the link was suspended Jan. 1, 2002, amid rising tensions after Islamic militants attacked the Indian Parliament.

India accused Pakistan of backing the militants, and the two countries nearly went to war. Pakistan denied involvement.