Driver prevents train tragedy

The alertness of the driver of Thal Express from Multan to Rawalpindi, Tariq Iqbal, prevented a major accident from happening.  

Sources said that the engine driver and his assistant at around 1 o'clock on Wednesday afternoon had stopped their train before the Stop Dead caution and restarted again. But they soon spotted a portion of the track having been melted near the Shah Alam railway station due to, what the sources said, heat during the day. The driver managed to stop the train in the nick of time.

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According to railway sources, if the train had passed through the melted portion of the track, its engine and coaches would have derailed. The Divisional Superintendent of Railways, Hamad Hassan Mirza, sent a rescue team to the affected area as soon as the incident was reported.

After three-and-a-half hours of efforts, the train operation was restored. The incident caused disruption in normal train operations.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2022.