LAHORE: Innumerable train-related catastrophes in Pakistan have left the nation mourning since 1953; research conducted by the Jang Group and Geo Television Network shows.
On Thursday, the latest train tragedy had left at least 75 people dead (till the filing of this report at 6.30 pm Thursday evening), after an ill-fated train going from Karachi to Rawalpindi, had caught fire that was reportedly caused by the explosion of a gas cylinder being used by some passengers making breakfast. The resulting inferno had also destroyed three economy-class carriages of the train.
Founded in 1861, Pakistan Railways owns 4,800 miles (7,791 km) of track across the country, and according to its growth vision till 2026, this public sector entity seeks to increase its share of the transportation sector from about five percent currently to 20 percent with Rs886.68 billion (US$6.3 billion) China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) rail upgrade budget. During financial year 2018-19, Pakistan Railways had served 70 million passengers; it has often been criticised for its deteriorating service and declining number of passengers and trains.
On August 20, 2019, the “International Railway Journal” had written: “Pakistan Railways has announced its highest-ever revenue of Rs54.6 billion (US $340.5million) for the 2018-19 financial year, which it says is Rs10 billion more than in 2017-18. The company faced higher costs in 2018-19 of Rs 6 billion due to pay increases, higher pension contributions, and rising fuel charges. Nevertheless, it managed to cut its annual deficit by Rs4 billion from Rs36 billion in 2017-18 to Rs 32 billion in 2018-19. It refurbished 24 passenger trains at its workshops in Lahore and Islamabad. These trains attracted around 8 million passengers and generated Rs5 billion in additional revenue. Overall, Pakistan Railways increased the number of rail passengers to 70 million”.
Railway was the predominant mode of transportation in Pakistan until 1970s. At its peak between 1955 and 1960, Pakistan Railways had handled 73 percent of the country’s freight traffic (compared to less than four percent in 2015).
(References: Pakistan Railways and the Business Recorder etc). But despite keeping its targets high, Pakistan Railways has a history of fatal railway accidents.
Here follows brief details of some major train accidents in the country. In 1953, some 200 people were killed in a railway accident at Jhampeer. In 1954, 60 people were killed in an accident at Jhang Shahi. In 1969, over 80 people were killed in the Liaquatpur rail accident.
On October 22, 1987, 28 people were killed and 60 others injured when a bus had collided with a train near the city of Moro, about 200 miles north of Karachi.
On the night between January 3 and January 4, 1990, 350 people were killed in a train accident at Sangi village, near Pannu Aqil Cantonment, some 15 km from Sukkur.
This particular incident is said to be the worst accident of its kind in Pakistan’s 67-year history. According to the “Los Angeles Times”, television footages had showed rows of bodies wrapped in blankets near the wreckage of an overcrowded 16-carriage and 1408-seat Multan to Karachi Bahauddin Express passenger train that had switched onto the wrong track to hit a 67-car freight train standing in a village station. The locomotive overturned and several cars were crushed or ripped open. Over 700 people were injured in this disaster. The investigation found railway staff to be ‘directly responsible’ for the disaster. Three staffers on duty at Sangi station were charged with manslaughter.
On June 8, 1991, according to the American news agency Associated Press, a crowded passenger train had again slammed into a freight train, killing 100 people.
This Karachi-Lahore-Islamabad express had crashed into the freight train parked at the station in Ghotki, 400 miles north of Karachi.
In November 1992, 54 people were again killed in an accident at the Ghotki Railway Station after a passenger train had rammed into the back of a freight train.
On March 3, 1997, 14 people were killed and about 100 injured in a train crash near Khanewal city.
Officials said six cars of a Karachi-bound passenger train had derailed after it had failed to stop at a junction and was diverted onto a dead-end track to avoid a more serious collision.
On July 13, 2005, 110 people had perished after Quetta Express was hit from behind at Ghotki Railway Station by another train (Karachi Express), which had missed a signal. The collision had caused several of the cars to derail. The derailed cars were subsequently hit by a third train (Tezgam). The three trains were carrying over 3000 passengers all together. Some people had even claimed that the death toll was around 500.
In August 2005, an upcountry Super Parcels Express had jumped the rails while crossing the Malir Bridge near Landhi in the Karachi Division. Eight bogies were substantially damaged when an axle had broken due to overloading.
In August 2006, seven coaches of Lahore Express had jumped the rails near Domeli, a station 33 km short of Jhelum. Four of the coaches had plunged into a 50 feet ravine.
In February 2006, one person was killed and 30 others injured when Lahore-bound Karakoram Express had derailed near Bahawalpur.
It was again in February 2006 that a Chinese container train carrying chemicals had collided with a stationary oil train some 180 km from Karachi. The action had sparked a fire but there were no casualties. The train carrying oil was on the track at the station when a northbound goods train had hit it from behind and a fire broke out. At least 18 wagons of the goods train were burnt out in the blaze, and some oil spilled at the scene.
In December 2007, nearly 50 people had died in a derailment incident near the town of Mehrabpur in Sindh. Some 14 of the train’s 16 carriages had left the tracks, some mangled by the crash, others simply sliding down an embankment into the water.
In July 2013, 14 members of an extended family were killed by a speeding train that had hit a motorcycle-rickshaw near Khanpur village, about 50 km from Gujranwala. It was also in July 2013 that two people had lost lives when a Rawalpindi-bound train had derailed near Gujranwala.
And in October 2014, a Business Train had hit a freight train near Ran Pathani, leading to the unnatural demise of an assistant driver.
On July 2, 2015, three carriages of a special train fell into a canal and another derailed near Gujranwala, leaving around 20 dead.
On November 17, 2015, Jaffar Express had derailed near a place called “Aab-e-Gum” in Balochistan, leading to another 20 deaths. On November 3, 2016, two trains had collided at the Landhi Railway Station in Karachi, killing 21 persons. On July 11, 2019, 21 people were killed as Akbar Express hit a parked cargo train at the Walhaar Railway Station near Sadiqabad.
