Pakistan Railways declares three-month emergency amid rising accidents

Pakistan Railroads has declared an emergency till December 31 following a slew of train accidents and derailments, directing officials to cancel holidays and rapidly fix operational deficiencies to improve passenger safety and ensure the safe transit of products across the country.

The decision has been taken following a number of recent rail mishaps, notably the derailment of the Rehman Baba Express near Multan on October 13 that left a number of people dead.

Railroads Minister Hanif Abbasi announced the restrictions on Saturday, saying the emergency would continue in effect until shortcomings in passenger coaches, goods waggons, locomotives, signalling systems and other railway infrastructure were remedied, effective from October 24.

He warned that officers in the operations department, including himself, would not be getting Saturdays, Sundays or any other public holidays off until the flaws were remedied. Under the emergency procedures police and officials have been suspended from all leave except medical leave.

Railroad staff have also been asked to keep a watch on train operations in the field while chief engineers of the civil and mechanical departments have to send daily progress reports to the ministry. The head of the safety department has also been told to give daily updates.

Pakistan Railroads has been hit by a series of mishaps and derailments during the past several months. Seven such occurrences took place in July alone.

The main reasons cited for accidents are poor condition of railway lines, faulty coaches and waggons, manual points system, human mistake, poor maintenance and lack of resources.

The emergency steps are targeted at overcoming these operational shortcomings and increasing the safety and dependability of railway services before the end of the year.