Pakistan stopped the Samjhauta Express at the Wagah border on Thursday, citing security concerns, following which an Indian crew and guard escorted the train to Attari on the Indian side, a railway spokesperson said.
He said around 110 passengers were coming to India from Pakistan.
A day after Islamabad downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi, Pakistan's Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told the media in Islamabad that Pakistan has closed the Samjhauta Express train service with India.
Indian Railways officials, however, said the train has not been suspended.
"Samjhauta Express plies between Lahore and Attari which is still continuing. Pakistan authorities had raised issues regarding security of the train's crew and guard. We have told them that situation this side is perfectly normal," news agency ANI quoted Deepak Kumar, CPRO, Northern Railways as saying.
"The train is standing in the Wagah side which has around 110 passengers & our engine has also left from Attari.We'll bring the train from Wagah to Attari. 70 passengers are waiting here who will travel to Pak. So to say that the train has been cancelled is not right," Kumar said.
Deepak Kumar:The train is standing in the Wagah side which has around 110 passengers & our engine has also left from Attari.We'll bring the train from Wagah to Attari. 70 passengers are waiting here who will travel to Pak. So to say that the train has been cancelled is not right. https://t.co/1efWhceS9D
— ANI (@ANI) August 8, 2019
Explaining the procedure, Kumar said the Samjhauta Express from both Lahore and Delhi come to Attari. At Attari, Delhi-bound passengers coming from Lahore get on to an Indian train. And Lahore-bound passengers board the Pakistani train that retraces its steps back to Wagah and then on to Lahore.
On Thursday, the Samjhauta Express from Lahore did not reach Attari, but remained at Wagah on the Pakistan side.
The Samjhauta Express, named after the Hindi word for "agreement", comprises six sleeper coaches and an AC 3-tier coach. The train service was started on July 22, 1976 under the Simla Agreement that settled the 1971 war between the two nations.
On the Indian side, the train runs from Delhi to Attari and from Lahore to Wagah on the Pakistan side.
The Samjhauta Express train service was suspended earlier this year, due to escalating tensions between the two neighbouring countries. However, the service was later resumed.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)