Another tragic accident
Another tragic accident
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At least, 73 people died after a fire broke out in Tezgam Express travelling from Karachi to Rawalpindi – after a gas canister reportedly exploded on board as the train was passing through the Rahim Yar Khan district of Punjab. “According to information reaching us from the site of the accident, more than 70 people were killed and over 40 injured,” said provincial health minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid. The injured were being rushed to hospitals in the nearby city of Bahawalpur and elsewhere in the district, she said, adding that only 18 of the bodies were identifiable. 

At least, 73 people died after a fire broke out in Tezgam Express travelling from Karachi to Rawalpindi – after a gas canister reportedly exploded on board as the train was passing through the Rahim Yar Khan district of Punjab. “According to information reaching us from the site of the accident, more than 70 people were killed and over 40 injured,” said provincial health minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid. The injured were being rushed to hospitals in the nearby city of Bahawalpur and elsewhere in the district, she said, adding that only 18 of the bodies were identifiable. Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid confirmed that two stoves blew up. “Two stoves blew up when people were cooking breakfast, the presence of kerosene with the passengers in (the) moving train further spread the fire,” he said. “Most deaths occurred from people jumping off the train,” the minister claimed. Pakistan Railways has witnessed at least two minor and two major accidents per week since 2013, raising a serious question over the security of around five million passengers who catch 66 passengers’ trains to different destinations daily. According to official data obtained from Pakistan Railways, nearly 350 people have lost their lives and 2,176 injured during this time period in 562 railways accidents occurred either on railway stations or its tracks. Around 80 minor or major accidents have been recorded since Sheikh Rasheed took charge of the railways ministry. The Rahimyar Khan incident is just the latest in a long line of deadly train crashes and accidents in Pakistan. Since July 2018, 65 people have been reported dead and over 30 injured, after a gas canister, passengers snuck into the train, exploded till now.

The country’s railway safety record has been atrocious this past year. Train accidents are common in Pakistan and rarely shock the authorities. Apart from major incidents, the railways suffer hundreds of minor accidents every year that are either not reported at all or find very little space in prime-time news bulletins. Even major accidents make headlines only for a day or two; cash compensation is announced for the injured or the family of the deceased, and inquiries that never see the light of day are ordered. The accident is then forgotten until there is another similar event. The government and the railway authorities know very well why accidents take place and what needs to be done. However, they have never bothered to fix the problem.
Governments often succumb to populism and spend the little money available on new train projects and on-board services, instead of maintaining and revamping the aging overused infrastructure or training railway personnel. This approach costs human lives.
Prime Minister Imran Khan too, who took to Twitter shortly after Thursday’s accident, blames “ageing, poorly maintained rail infrastructure that has fallen into disrepair due to chronic underinvestment and poor maintenance”. He has also asked the railway minister to take emergency steps to counter decades of neglect and to ensure safety standards. The question is, will his government walk the talk and allocate enough funds for proper maintenance of railway infrastructure, and hold to account the officials responsible and passengers for neglecting the safety?
Pakistan, many things seem beyond repair. It is impossible for instance, to change people’s civic sense overnight or go from times of conflict to peace, but there are, surely, various things that can be changed. Government after government has been pleaded to improve the over 150-year-old train system, but it slowly keeps chugging into decay. This is the same system that just across the border in India, is a lifeline for its citizens. If only time was spent building institutions and infrastructure instead of wasting it on ideological absurdities and power tussles, Pakistan, like its railway system, would not be a country eroding itself. The government should order a probe to get to the causes of frequent railway accidents. The possibility of an organized conspiracy aimed at failing the railways cannot be ruled out. All aspects of the issue should be kept in view. This is necessary to bring the railways back on track.