Plush seats & AC: Get ready for ride to Pak

deadlines are drawn in sand only to be blown away by hot air from either side, the new date is, well, at least a week from now.

The reason, say Surface Transport Ministry officials, is that a draft agreement was sent last week and Pakistan is yet to get back. The Ministry of External Affairs says the same thing. The Cabinet will clear it in a day, they say, and the bus will hit the road, but first, the agreement has to come.

But the blame gamehasn’t begun. In fact, for the DTC, which will run the service, a delay means more time to make the bus look smarter. So, in a workshop in North Delhi, where the bus is getting a fresh coat of white paint, the rough edges can now be smoothened just that little bit extra.

As for Pakistan, its Additional Foreign Secretary Tariq Altaf, who is in New Delhi for the bilateral talks, says that they too are making “hectic efforts” to get the show on the road. “We’re trying to find out who would be interested in running the bus service as a business proposition and will soon work out the details,” he told The Indian Express.

He says a bus service is what’s needed since air travel is expensive and there have been several complaints about the Samjhauta Expresss — the bi-weekly train service — running from New Delhi to Atari.

DTC officials are happy they are way ahead of their Pakistani counterparts. When they were asked to introduce two luxury coaches (one will be a stand-by) on the Delhi-LahoreGrand Trunk route by the Surface Transport Ministry, they realised they had no new air-conditioned coaches to spare.

Therefore, they rolled out two six-month-old AC coaches from their `Indraprastha Service.’ In fact, one coach, flagged off by former Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma in April, was pulled out from the Dehradun route for the November 2 Delhi-Wagah dry run.

Back from this trial run, DTC officials are crowing. Their 36-seat coach will be the closest to anything plying on inter-city routes in Europe, they say. Besides the AC and the heaters, the bus will have a public address system and fire extinguishers. It will have only one door, in the front, its pneumatic controls with the driver. Arrangements are being made to serve chilled drinks and mineral water on the way and a lunch stop for passengers is on the cards, in all probability, at Sirhand in Punjab.

The cost of the coach is Rs 20 lakh, but this, DTC officials say, will soon be recovered. “Even before the service has begun, we have beenflooded with inquiries and requests for reservations,” an official said. “We are sure of making good money on this route.”

The Delhi-Lahore bus service will run on days the Samjhauta Express doesn’t. An exclusive reception centre for passengers is also being built by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) at the Dr Ambedkar Bus Terminus, near Delhi Gate. It’s here that the passengers only those with valid Pakistan visas can travel will buy tickets and begin their journey. Besides an Immigration and a Customs counter, the reception centre will have a waiting hall, a retiring room, a snack bar, toilets and as officials expect, X-ray machines, maybe even metal detectors.

While the formal okay from Islamabad is awaited before the details are worked out, the dry run resulted in this tentative schedule: The bus will start its 10-hour journey from the Dr Ambedkar Terminal around 6.30 am, travel down the Grand Trunk Road until it reaches the Wagah checkpost, in the outskirts of Amritsar. The fare’s yetto be finalised but is expected to be around Rs 500 one way.

Customs and immigration authorities at Wagah who will receive the list of passengers in advance — have asked for an hour to clear the passengers through to Pakistan.

Passage to Pakistan

NEW DELHI-LAHORE BUS

Fare: Likely to be Rs 500 one way. Valid Pak visa essential.

36 seats, three days a week, when the Samjhauta Express doesn’t. Likely Departure: Dr Ambedkar Terminal at 6.30 am. Ten hours to Wagah, lunch stop at Sirhand.

One hour for clearing Customs, Immigration at Wagah, another hour on the Pakistan side. 30 minutes from Attari to Lahore. Arrival Lahore: 7 p.m.

Return journey, next morning

SAMJHAUTA EXPRESS

Leaves Wednesday and Sunday

12 coaches; unreserved 10; sleeper 2

Fare (One-way): Rs 133 (general); Rs 153 (sleeper)

Departure: 9 pm; arrival Attari: 4.45 pm next day. One-and-a-half hour halt for checks, another hour and a half to Lahore.