Ghotki Train Accident: Several Railway Officials Held Responsible

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Ghotki Train Accident: Several Railway Officials Held Responsible

LAHORE: An inquiry carried out by the Federal Government’s Inspector of Railways has concluded that the primary reason for the collision between two passenger trains at Daharki in June, which killed 67 people, was poor maintenance of the railway joint. 

Reports state that in an inquiry submitted to the Ministry of Railways by the Railways Inspector, it was stated that over 20 officials have been arrested, including Divisional Superintendent of Railway Sukkur Division, for “improper track maintenance”.

“Yes, I have heard about the report which has found me responsible for poor monitoring,” DS Sukkur Tariq Latif stated.

“I already knew that the FGIR would make me a scapegoat, despite the fact that I had made the headquarters well aware of the issues affecting the operational scope of the Sukkur division,” he said.

PR Board Chairman Federal Secretary Dr. Habib-ur-Rehman Gilani declined to confirm the FGIR report.

Habib-ur-Rehman said, “I received the report on Saturday night but I could not read it due to the next day’s holiday. I cannot approve it without submitting it to the Railway Minister for final approval.”

Immediately after the accident, the initial report of some junior officials also pointed out the faulty and improper welding of the railway joint. Some bogies of Millat Express bound for Sargodha had derailed.

The train derailed between Reti and Daharki stations in Ghotki district at 3.30 pm on June 7, leaving eight trains running on a parallel track. A few minutes later, the Sir Syed Express from Rawalpindi, coming from the opposite direction, also derailed.

According to the initial report, all but one member of the team agreed on the said reason while explaining the situation after inspecting the site.

He said the team visiting the site found a “freshly broken welded rail joint” and found the derailed coaches 76 feet away, suggesting that the culprits could be identified after a forensic analysis of the broken pieces of track.

Speaking to the media immediately after the incident, DS Sukkur had revealed that there are about 6,000 joints both up and down tracks in the Sukkur division and the place where the tragedy took place was one of the welded joints.

He added that he had only one welding machine and that it was of poor quality, stating that the entire track needs immediate restoration.

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