KARACHI: The Lahore-bound Shalimar Express derailed near the Badal Nala Railway Station at Bin Qasim Town early on Monday, officials said.

They said all the train’s passengers remained safe in the accident, which saw the derailment of three to four coaches.

Train operations were affected for a couple of hours as the Khyber Mail from Peshawar had to be stopped at the Jhang Shahi Station, the Hazara Express heading to Karachi was stopped at the Bin Qasim Station and the Awami Express for Peshawar was stopped at the Jumma Goth Station when the ‘up’ and ‘down’ tracks had to be closed until a relief train could be dispatched to the area.

Later, in order to deal with the excess passenger flow, the Lahore-bound Pak Business Express was joined with Karachi Express for Monday only.

A team of the Pakistan Railways (PR) looked into the cause of the accident and believed that a coach or trolley wheel had opened up the curved track to push the engine to one track and some of the coaches to another.

However, an initial inquiry report of the incident stated that the accident took place due to the negligence of the train driver, according to APP.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2024