Pakistan train accident: On Sunday, ten passenger railway cars derailed in southern Pakistan, killing 30 people and wounding more than 90 others. 275 kilometres from the province capital Karachi, in the Nawabshah area close to the Sarhari Railway Station, the Hazara Express train from Karachi to Rawalpindi derailed.
The Hazara Express’s driver said that 10 out of 19 compartments abruptly left the track when the train was travelling at a speed of about 50 km per hour. “We were well inside the speed limit, which on the line is 105 kilometres per hour. I don’t know what occurred,” he said.
According to a Pakistan Railways spokeswoman in Karachi, at least eight bogies derailed, and the severity of the disaster grew as a result of the slow application of brakes. Trains leaving Karachi may experience delays, the source added, adding that the impacted bogies would be taken off the track using large machinery in a few hours.
“Right now, the focus is on rescue work and recovering people from the derailed compartments,” a representative said.
While all departures were delayed, all trains in both directions were halted at the closest stations until the tracks could be cleared. The railway administration repeatedly changing the departure timings, and passengers at Karachi station complained that they were waiting there in vain.
In Pakistan, where safety standards are poor and colonial-era communications and signal systems remain in place, train accidents frequently occur on poorly maintained railway tracks.
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