Two more too much

SUKKUR: When the Pakistan Express finally made it to the Rohri Railway Station, ten hours behind schedule, the passengers waiting for it were already edgy. When the railway authorities announced soon after, that the train’s locomotive has broken down and would take at least two hours to fix the problem, some of the people went over the edge.

The announcement instigated an impromptu protest with angry passengers, including women and children, shouting slogans against railway authorities and pelting stones at their offices. Some of the protesters pulled down the driver, Mueenuddin Siddiqui and fireman Tanveer, from the train and beat them up. However, other, calmer passengers intervened and managed to rescue the driver and fireman.

Later, the passengers blocked the railway track for about four hours in protest.

“After its departure from Rawalpindi, the train was stopped here and there for an hour,” said an angry passenger, Mrs Aftab Khan who had been on board the Pakistan Express from its starting point in Rawalpindi. “When the train finally started again at a snail’s pace it stopped at the Multan Railway Station for three hours.”

Another passenger, Shakeela Qureshi, said, “If we had hired a donkey cart we would have reached Karachi by now.” She added that the train was in terrible condition with no light, no fans and no water in the cabins.

Meanwhile, the driver who got an unexpected thrashing told The Express Tribune that the delay and technical problems were not his fault.

“I had contacted the Multan control office and informed them that the locomotive was giving trouble but they said carry on with it,” Siddiqui said. “They said you will get another locomotive at Sama Sata Railway Station but a new locomotive was not provided at Sama Sata or at Khanpur [the next stop].”

Finally, four hours later a locomotive was attached to the Pakistan Express and the train left for Karachi.

The protest on the tracks also delayed the Super Express, which managed to leave after the Pakistan Express took off.

Divisional superintendent Pakistan railway, Sukkur division, Roshan Ali Mangi could not be immediately reached for comment.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 29^th, 2010.