Attari Sham Singh railway station is a railway station located in the Amritsar district of Punjab, India. It serves the town of Attari and is the last railway station on the Indian side of the India–Pakistan border on the Amritsar–Lahore line. The station is named in honour of Sham Singh Attariwala, a general of the Sikh Empire who fell at the Battle of Sobraon in 1846.
Key facts
| Name | Attari Sham Singh railway station |
|---|---|
| Station code | ATT |
| Location | Attari, Amritsar district, Punjab, India |
| Operator | Northern Railway, Indian Railways |
| Line | Amritsar–Attari–Lahore line |
| Named after | Sham Singh Attariwala |
| Country | India |
Background
Attari lies on the historic railway corridor that connected Amritsar with Lahore, a route that was operationalised during the British Raj in the 19th century as part of the broader expansion of the North Western State Railway. After the Partition of India in 1947, the route was severed by the new international boundary, with Attari becoming the last Indian station before the border crossing at Wagah. The corresponding station on the Pakistani side is at Wagah.
Significance
The station has long held strategic importance as the customs and immigration point for rail traffic moving between India and Pakistan. The Samjhauta Express, a biweekly cross-border passenger train introduced in 1976 following the Shimla Agreement, terminated at Attari on the Indian side, where customs and passport checks were conducted before passengers continued onward to Lahore. Operations of the Samjhauta Express were suspended after the deterioration of bilateral relations in 2019.
The station is also the rail head for cross-border freight traffic, particularly the movement of goods through the Attari–Wagah trade route, which has historically included items such as cement, soybean, and agricultural produce.
Layout and connectivity
The station falls under the Firozpur railway division of the Northern Railway zone. It is connected by broad-gauge track to Amritsar Junction, the principal nearby hub, from where trains run to Delhi and other parts of the country. The station premises include facilities for customs clearance and immigration when international services are operating.
Related topics
- Wagah
- Samjhauta Express
- Amritsar Junction railway station
- Sham Singh Attariwala
- Northern Railway zone
- Attari–Wagah border
References
- Wikidata: Q25549008
- Indian Railways, Northern Railway zone official information