LAHORE
\nA Quetta-bound cargo train derailed on Saturday near Tozgi station, around 70km from Taftan town on the Pak-Iran border, suspending rail operations between the two countries.
\nThe goods train, with some passenger coaches attached, was loaded with phosphate and travelling from Iran towards its destination in Pakistan, Pakistan Railways (PR) CEO Amir Ali Baloch told Dawn.
\nThe harrowing derailment significantly damaged the locomotive, a staff rest coach and a few wagons. Authorities fear that this was a terrorist attack, with the PR CEO saying that the possibility \u201ccannot be ruled out\u201d.
\nMr Baloch said the incident was being probed in view of the killings in Noshki, where gunmen shot and killed nine men on Friday night after abducting them from a bus. Besides, militants also damaged a portion of a track near Noshki a day ago, he said.
\nHe said an inquiry had been ordered to assess the causes of derailment. To a question, he said the train was slightly speeding when it was derailed.
\nHe said the damaged track where the derailment occurred would be repaired as soon as PR workers access the area, which was currently cordoned off.
\nThe Taftan derailment was one of at least three major accidents that occurred over the past week, a busy period for the organisation as it runs special trains to transport people travelling to celebrate Eidul Fitr with their families.
\nIn an accident last week, the Peshawar-bound Rehman Baba Express collided with a dumper truck near Faisalabad during the late hours of Sunday, according to reports.
\nThe truck, crossing the railway line at an unmanned level crossing at the Pakka Anna-Gojra section, was cut into halves due to the intensity of the crash. The engine driver and his assistant received serious injuries, while the locomotive and a passenger coach also suffered massive damage.
\nThe rescue teams had to cut through the locomotive\u2019s body to take out the driver and his assistant.
\nThe accident suspended rail traffic on the Khanewal-Faisalabad section for hours, delaying trains\u2019 arrival at the Faisalabad station.
\nThe third accident took place on Friday when a coach of the Karachi-bound Allama Iqbal Express caught fire near Sargodha. According to reports, the train was crossing Sahiwal Junction when a Railway Police head constable spotted fire underneath carriage No. 6.
\nEyewitnesses said that after spotting the fire, Muhammad Amin Sindhu rushed to the assistant station master\u2019s office, who forcefully stopped the train by raising a red signal within the outer signal range.
\nSome passengers had jumped off the moving train at Sahiwal station before it was stopped, eyewitnesses said.
\nLater, the PR police safely disembarked the passengers and put out the fire. The damaged carriage was taken to the yard, and the train left for its destination after a delay of one and a half hours.<\/p>\n
Mismanagement, overloading<\/strong> LAHORE A Quetta-bound cargo train derailed on Saturday near Tozgi station, around 70km from Taftan town on the Pak-Iran border, suspending rail operations between the two countries. The goods train, with some passenger coaches attached, was loaded with phosphate and travelling from Iran towards its destination in Pakistan, Pakistan Railways (PR) CEO Amir Ali Baloch […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-400094","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n
\nThe PR operations suffered not only due to accidents but also mismanagement, which resulted in severe distress for passengers.
\nOn Thursday, several passengers travelling in the Rawalpindi-bound Rawal Express claimed that people without tickets occupied the seats of passengers who had confirmed reservations. They alleged that the staff allowed ticketless passengers on the train, causing severe inconvenience for those travelling with a ticket.
\nThe PR also had to face embarrassment when a video went viral a couple of days ago, showing a Railways Police constable beating a woman passenger and her children in a moving train.
\nReportedly, the incident took place in Millat Express, where Constable Meer Hasan assaulted the passenger. After the incident\u2019s video went viral, the higher-ups of Railways Police intervened and arrested the constable.
\nA case was also registered at the Hyderabad Railways Police Station, but the accused was released after he secured bail from the court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"