Attack on Akbar Bugti Express: Rail services Quetta remain suspended in Quetta

Officials say repair work on damaged parts of the track could not be completed in time. Service to resume on Saturday

QUETTA: A day after a bomb explosion derailed the Akbar Bugti Express in Mastung injuring one, rail services from Quetta to rest of the country remained suspended on Friday.

Officials said that the service remained suspended because repair work on the damaged track could not be completed on Friday. The service is expected to be restored by Saturday.

The engine and eight bogies of Akbar Bugti Express were derailed after it was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) near Sepazad Station in Dasht area of Mastung district on Thursday night.

Repair work on the line started right after the rescue operation, but it remained incomplete on Friday and trains bound for Rawalpindi, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi trains remained stranded.

“It is taking long because engine and several bogies were derailed,” railway officials said, adding that the repair work is expected to culminate by Saturday.