February 8, 2006	Wednesday	Muharram 9, 1427

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GUJAR KHAN, Feb 7: An accident was averted at the Gujar Khan railway station after a Lahore-bound goods train failed to stop at the station to give way to the Rawalpindi-bound Sialkot Express, sources in the railway department confirmed.

The Lahore-bound goods train coming from Rawalpindi was supposed to halt at the station to provide crossing to the Sialkot Express that was expected to arrive at the station at 10.45am — just 15 minutes after the goods train.

As the goods train entered the railway station, driver Waheed Sultan applied brakes but due leakage in the vacuum system the brakes could not operate and the train overshooting the outer signal continued to move on beyond the busy crossing, witnesses and the railway sources said.

According to the witnesses, the railway crossing at the down- track was open for traffic when the stray train crossed it; however, miraculously no vehicle or pedestrian was hit by it.

The gateman, Mohammad Shabbir, continued to flag down the train, but the driver could not stop it.

In the meantime, one of the trackmen succeeded in diverting the course of the train onto the side track and the train stopped at some distance. On the other hand, the Sialkot Express that had reached at the railway crossing at 10.45am was not allowed to enter the station. According to the witnesses, had the track of the goods train not been changed on time it could have collided with the Sialkot Express.

The driver and fireman Masood Butt told reporters that due to the brake failure the train continued to travel down 100 meters from its stoppage point. Traffic on the track remained suspended for more than 45 minutes and was restored after safe parking of the goods train in the yard.