Need to revamp railways

Accidents in the public domain are subjected to accountability in any civil society. Be they train mishaps or air crashes, the prime reason behind them is either human negligence or dilapidated infrastructure. Pakistan since its inception ironically has a single British-built railway track that carries millions of passengers from Karachi to Peshawar. Branch lanes laid down as extensions towards Quetta and interior Punjab and Sindh too are not up to mark. Derailments are, thus, the order of the day. This is why dozens of train accidents were reported in the last many decades, killing thousands of people, and none of the ordered probes led to any tangible results and retribution.

Last week, Pakistan Railways released an inquiry report of Daharki trains’ collision last June in which 66 people were killed. It held nine senior officials responsible for negligence. There isn’t any culture of owning responsibility after disasters. To this day, no official or minister concerned had ever stepped down, nor shown the door. Though departmental inquiries, subsequent suspensions and even dismissals are reported after such human tragedies, the most irresistible point that is missed is: why do such mishaps take place? And why is there silence of lambs after initial probes? And why are remedial measures not taken promptly?

One of the prime reasons behind accidents is dilapidated infrastructure of railways, and an ageing, substandard and ill-maintained fleet. Despite immense funding under CPEC, no proper infrastructure of railway has been developed. This pathetic policy is supplemented with poor maintenance, low salaries of staff and an inefficient bureaucracy.

The decaying infrastructure of railways is in need of massive investment to revamp it. The ageing tracks should be immediately changed, and outdated signal systems refurbished. Purchasing of new coaches and locomotives has been pending for a long time. Passenger safety standards should also be adhered to promptly. Though millions frequent on a daily basis, the railways are shown in loss. This is corruption and mismanagement par-excellence.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2021.

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