Railways minister attributes Tezgam Express derailment to likely ‘mechanical and human error’

LAHORE: Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi said on Wednesday that “human error and some mechanical issues” were most probably the reasons behind the derailment of the Karachi-bound Tezgam express train the day before.

Twenty-six passengers were injured, including one critically, when seven coaches of the train derailed near Adam Wahan Railway Station near Punjab’s Lodhran on Tuesday night.

“I can not confirm before time … the reasons behind this derailment. But most probably, the reasons seem related to mechanical and human error,” Abbasi said while talking to Dawn on Wednesday morning.

“You know they (Pakistan Railways) have very old coaches to run. And they have not addressed such issues well,” he deplored, adding that for the last nine years, there was no proper maintenance of the locomotives.

He said that 1960 model coaches are still in use by railways, “and we are currently refurbishing them one by one — not to the extent of paint work alone, but mechanical and other works too”.

The minister said the rakes of the Sukkur Express and Awam Express would soon be refurbished as work was underway in this regard.

Abbasi further added that the railways and provincial departments performed an excellent joint rescue and relief operation at the incident site.

“Thank God there was no casualty or serious injuries to any passenger due to timely relief and rescue works,” he said.

Meanwhile, the train was later dispatched to Karachi in a five-coach configuration.

“I took a five-coach train to Sammasatta Station. There, the train continued to Karachi under another driver,” said train driver Tariq Khan. Responding to a question, he said he immediately realised the coaches had separated when he noticed a drop in load while operating the train.

A Pakistan Railways spokesperson on Tuesday did not reveal the cause of the derailment, saying that the reasons would be ascertained after an inquiry that has been ordered by railway officials.

However, some eyewitnesses claimed that the derailment was caused when the couplers between the bogies broke, dividing the train into two parts. Seven bogies were left attached to the engine, out of which five were derailed.

Pakistan Railways Divisional Superintendent Multan Muhammad Hanif Gul announced strict action against the railway officials found negligent in the incident.