Delhi-Lahore bus frequency to be doubled soon

“At present, there are two bus service per week from Delhi to Lahore and two from Lahore to Delhi per week. The plan is now to increase it to four bus services per week from each side. The decision has been mutually arrived at by India and Pakistan authorities as the Delhi-Lahore bus service has been doing quite well. A meeting with Pakistani officials is planned at month-end for final go ahead,” said a senior official from the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, which co-ordinates the bus service between the two countries.

The Delhi-Lahore bus service is quite a revenue earner for transport corporations on both sides of the border, with high passenger volume registered almost throughout the year. Started with much fanfare in February 1999, the highly popular bus service was suspended in 2001 after the attack on parliament. However, the service was resumed with just as much fanfare in July 2003.

Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) and Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) manage this bus service.

Meanwhile, the Amritsar-Nankana Sahib (the birth place of Guru Nanak) and Amritsar-Lahore bus service, started in 2005 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, have not proved to be such a big draw. The departments in both India and Pakistan are, therefore, considering streamlining the two bus services.

“There are two separate weekly bus services connecting the two Punjabs with point-to-point connectivity between Amritsar and Lahore and Amritsar and Nankana Sahib. In fact, the Amritsar and Nankana Sahib service was flagged off as a pilgrim service. However, the passenger response on the two circuits has not been very enthusing. Hence, the authorities in both the countries are planning to club the two separate bus services into a single route Amritsar-Lahore-Nankansahib,” said officials.

An inter-ministerial meeting is likely to be held on the issue this week, followed by a meeting with Pakistani authorities later in the month.