Minister blames ‘human error’ for train collision

Conclusion comes after confirmation that all railway signals in Karachi were functioning properly during the collision

KARACHI: Human error was the likely cause of Thursday’s deadly collision between two trains in Karachi that left 22 people dead and 65 others injured, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said on Friday.

The minister said he had drawn the conclusion after confirmation that all railway signals in Karachi were functioning properly during the train collision.



In September, a similar accident occurred when Peshawar-Karachi Awami Express rammed into a freight train near Multan. The accident was also blamed on driver error.

Speaking at a news conference held at the Karachi Press Club, Rafique said that the federal government’s inspector of railways is scheduled to submit his findings in this regard in eight days.

He thanked Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah for paying monetary compensation to the heirs of the victims, and appreciated PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and leaders of the MQM for lending support in this regard.  “No matter how antiquated Pakistan Railways’ system is … they have good security system.”

‘Human error’

The chairman of the Railway Workers Union, Manzoor Razi, told The Express Tribune that in Sindh, all signals between Karachi and Nawabshah were automated.

He maintained that since Fareed Express train was stationary at the Jumma Goth signal, Zakaria Express should not have moved from the Bin Qasim railway station near Steel Mills.

Both the trains, he said, were on their way back from Punjab and the driver of the Zakaria Express knew that Fareed Express was parked ahead. Both trains, he said, were supposed to stop at Landhi station right after the Jummah Goth signal.

He said that it was yet to be determined why the station master of Bin Qasim railway station gave the go-ahead to Zakaria Express without asking about the position of the Fareed Express.  He said that signals might malfunction during rains, but there was no fault in signals at the time of the recent accident.



The railways minister, he pointed out, toured Karachi but did not go anywhere near the Pakistan Railways Hassan Hospital, where the driver and the assistant drivers were being treated.

Political talk

On CPEC, he said that Pakistan Railways has its reasonable share of projects. Karachi and Peshawar would be linked through a high-speed rail network, he said, adding that the distance between Lahore and Karachi would be travelled in less than 10 hours.  If the PPP leaders did not serve Sindh, they would be eradicated from here too, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th, 2016.