Goods up to 60 tons can be loaded into a luggage van attached to a passenger train running between the main lines, namely, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and Rawalpindi, since this is the amount the tracks can bear.
While a mainline track has a lifespan of 25 to 30 years, but if the luggage van, which is also called a “brake van”, of any mainline train is overloaded with more than 60 tons of cargo, the first thing which breaks is the track welding which joins the railway tracks together, which results in train accidents.
Read: AGP report on Railways
Overloaded trains also halve the lifespan of the tracks which is completely damaged in 15 to 16 years’ time.
Loading more than 60 tons of goods on any train causes the most damage to the railway bridges because the railway bridges are not able to withstand the overload.
On the other hand, 40 to 45 tons of goods can be loaded into the luggage or brake vans of trains on branch lines such as Shorkot, Juranwala and Larkana besides Haripur, Narowal, Kasur and Pakpattan sections.
Meanwhile, the Chief Commercial Manager of Railways, Ali Rizwan Rizvi, has decided to impose heavy fines on contractors booking excess goods in luggage vans of trains across the country to prevent accidents.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 22nd, 2022.
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