Train accident: FIRs against drivers ‘for falling asleep’

The drivers had fled after the collision

MULTAN: Shujabad police registered an FIR against two train drivers on the complaint of a railway official late on Thursday night.

A spokesman said the FIR had been registered under Sections 128 (wilful neglect endangering lives of travellers) and 129 (rash behaviour) of Railway Act, 1890 and Sections 320 (homicide by rash/negligent driving) and 427 (mischief causing damage to public property) of Pakistan Penal Code.

He said Awami Express driver Abdul Rauoof Shamoon and assistant driver Qaisar had fled after the train’s collision with a freight carrier earlier on Thursday. The FIR said both drivers had been asleep when the incident occurred.

Talking to The Express Tribune, railway official Tahir Masood Marwat said the federal minister had announced Rs1 million compensation each for families of the deceased and Rs50,000 for the injured. He said expenses for their treatment would be borne by the Railway Department

Four people were killed and more than 100 others were injured in a collision between a stationery freight train and Awami Express near Sher Shah Junction around 3:48am on Thursday.

He said 12 people were admitted at Nishtar Hospital. He said two people were in a critical condition. He said 22 others had been discharged on Friday.

He said Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafiq had constituted a committee to investigate the incident.

After the incident, some train drivers had complained that they were not trained in the use of the new signals. Talking to The Express Tribune, Muhammad Nawaz, one such driver, said the accident might have occurred due to the new signal system. “Not many drivers are trained to understand its messages,” he said.

Marwat dismissed concerns about the signal system. “For all practical purposes, there is no difference between the old and the new signal system. The old system was provided by Siemens. The new one is called Auto-Block. It has three lights – red, orange and green – which tell the drive what to do when approaching a crossing. The mechanism is quite straightforward and all railway workers are trained in its use.”

He said the train had not stopped despite a red light “The drivers of the train fled soon after the collision. We believe they are covering up for their negligence.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th, 2016.