After Sibi attack: Business as usual for train travelers

Jammers removed from trains following passengers’ complaints.

QUETTA:

While the number of passengers at Quetta Railway Station was lower compared to days before Tuesday’s deadly bombing at Sibi Railway station, many travelers say they intend to keep using this mode of transport.

Their faith – and the cost of airfare – informs their decision.

“I have a firm belief in God and unless He does not want it, nothing can harm us,” said Muhammad Afzal, 42, before embarking on his journey to Lahore on the Quetta-Rawalpindi Jaffar Express. “As long as I cannot afford airfare, I will use the train as a means of transport,” he added.

Speaking with The Express Tribune, drivers at the station said passenger trains are usually attacked in Bolan, Sibi and Naseerabad division. Seven people, including a police constable, for instance, were killed after a passenger train was bombed at Sibi Railway Station on June 28th, 2012.

One train driver said a lapse in security was the sole cause of the attacks this Tuesday. “I do not know when this will end but I do know that we have no security right now. Travelling on a train is tantamount to endangering your life,” he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “I have survived an attack previously when armed men fired rockets and emptied magazines of bullets on my train from the mountain tops,” he added.

Divisional Superintendent Railway Quetta Khalid Lunjha says the Railways and Home Department are working together to ensure the safety of passengers. “Installing jammers and other measures are in the pipeline, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12^th, 2014.