'Poor condition' of railway track behind derailment of Karachi Express in Pak's Sindh, reveals probe

After coaches of Lahore-bound Karachi Express derailed in Pakistan's Sindh province on Sunday, a probe launched under the federal government inspector of railways (FGIR) blamed the "poor condition of the track" for the accident in which a woman was killed and 13 others sustained injuries.

The accident took place near Rohri in a city of Sukkur District in Pakistan's Sindh province.

The FGIR was asked to submit a report to the railways ministry within 48 hours. The report has identified "poor condition of the track" as the main reason for the accident that left a woman dead and about 13 passengers injured, Dawn reported.

Train Drivers Association chairman Shams Pervaiz said the accident apparently took place due to the "breaking of the rail track".

He further said, "The engine and seven coaches (1 to 7) had crossed (the track) without any issue. But the passenger coaches (8 to 14) derailed and fell on the ground, nine feet down to the track."

Pervaiz accused the concerned officers of not paying attention to the rehabilitation of tracks, Dawn reported.

Pakistan Railways had suffered Pakist Rs 1.2 trillion losses during the past 50 years and the government plans to revive the collapsing orgsation. The cash-strapped Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government seems clueless about its strategy for the railway's revival as any previous administration.

It has, apparently, put all its eggs in the Chinese basket, hoping that the investment of USD 6.8 billion on an upgrade of the Main Line-1 (ML-1) connecting Peshawar with Karachi would resuscitate the dying company.

Citing the 2019-20 Economic Survey, Dawn reported, the railway owns 474 locomotives (458 diesel engines and 12 steam engines) for 7,791km length of the track. During the first eight months of FY20 (July-February), the number of passengers decreased to 39.4 million against 39.9m from the previous year.

( With inputs from ANI )