India to Pakistan - train?

itamar

Hello everyone,

1. Is there a train connecting between major cities in India and Pakiston or are those trains still blocked?
What about buses crossing between the two nations?

2. If I'm landing in Delhi and want to get Pakistani visa on my passport, is the process is usual 2-3 days wait and few dozens of dollars and nothing more or am i asked to do anything else ? I'm asking this because I plan to do it with Swiss passport although I am Israeli and live in israel, and as many know, Pakistani authorities renounce israel...

Any info on the second aspect?


Many Thanks (:

Shiver me Timbers

You can take a train from Amritsar to Lahore, but it's a lot quicker and simpler to take a bus to the border, cross, and then a bus on to Lahore. Both Lahore and Amritsar are about 30 minutes from the Wagah border.

Regarding your visa, the situation in 2005 was that you needed to get a Letter of Introduction from your home embassy first (in your case, the Swiss Embassy). You may have to pay for this letter - for example, the British Embassy charge £50, whereas the Irish Embassy give them out for free. Then the actual processing of the Pak visa takes between 5 and 10 days. However, bear in mind that this was in 2005, and the siuation may have changed in the last 2 years.

After that, just hop on the train to Amritsar, make sure you spend at least 1 night at the Golden Temple, and then head for Lahore - don't miss the border closing ceremony - (See here)

Enjoy Pakistan - have a look at the link in my sig for some ideas on what to do there.....

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Indizen

There is no such train.
You have to board ths train at Delhi (Main) - its called the Samjhauta Express. There are a lot of restrictions for travel on this train. It has a major stop at Amritsar and Attari for the customs procedures.
Basically it is meant for Indian and Pakistani nationals travelling between the two countries under the watchful eyes of the intelligence agencies.
Its not much of a tourist special.
Crossing the boder on foot is one practical option.
The Delhi Lahore bus service is again more of a cross border controlled link between nationals of the two neighbouring countries, booked well in advance, with a lot of bureaucratic hurdles to be encountered.

brownboy66

Off topice - in case you weren't aware - Benazir Bhutto was killed in a car bombing this evening (its on BBC, CNN, etc). Not sure what your travel dates are, but likely to be very unstable/ unsettled in Parkistan as a result - so you may want to delay your travel there - or at the very least ensure your travel information for Pakistan is as up to date as possible.

Shiver me Timbers

Oh yeah, sorry, I meant Delhi-Lahore. From what I remember, only certain nationalities can use it.

Far simpler to just walk across the border, getting transport on each side.

Indizen

Unfortunately, Pakistan is in the throes of a civil war situation, as we write this...
Events of the past few hours have shaken whatever semblance of security there was earlier.
It would be advisable to avoid travelling to that country at least till the end of January, till they manage to prop up a new Government in place after the elections, if they are held as announced on the 8th.

itamar

Thanks everybody for writing and tipping.

I was writing this message one day before the awful news about Benazir's Bhutto assassination. Its a big shock for me. I had big hopes for her.
Its simply an overwhelming tragedy.
Once again violence prevails.

I don't feel like chatting about traveling for now.
Thanks everybody.

bijapuri

as of early October, 2007, it took me about 30 minutes to clear both customs posts and cross the border.

Prepare for all hell to break loose in Pakistan as we speak

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steven_ber

There is also a weekly train from Jodhpur to southern Pakistan, I can't remember the details, I have them at home though, but the train goes via Barmer to the border at Mumabao (or something similar), then through to some big city in the south of Pakistan, can't remember what city though.

I beleive that Sleeper Class is the only bookable class for both trains.

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Train information.

Shiver me Timbers

Here's a report from about 2 years ago I found on it...

Khokhrapar-Munabao Train From Feb. 18


I think I remember hearing one report of a foriegner using this train, either here or on the Thorn Tree - they said it took something like 18 hours to clear the border. Still, it would be a very interesting route to take, linking Karachi with Rajasthan.

Mehndi Masala

This thread http://www.indiamike.com/india/cross...travel-t48696/ is good for this question. Just posted that trains and buses have been suspended for a bit.

Kim

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