ISLAMABAD, Dec 20: A large number of Eid travellers from the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad faced hardships during the last two days due to derailment of Karachi Express near Naushero Feroze that claimed 50 lives.
According to an official of Pakistan Railways in Rawalpindi, the train schedule was badly affected due to the accident and two Karachi-bound trains from Rawalpindi — Pakistan Express and Jinnah Express — were cancelled. Both the trains were scheduled to leave on the Eid day (Friday). Some of the passengers told Dawn that they could not reach their hometowns due to cancellation of trains and disturbance in rail schedule on the occasion of Eidul Azha.
They blamed the railway authorities for reacting slowly to the train accident near Naushero Feroze and normalizing the traffic on the track, causing great deal of trouble to the passengers bound for different destinations.
As a result of the disruption in train schedule, a big mess was seen at the Rawalpindi Railway Station on Wednesday and Thursday and verbal clashes between the railway staff and the passengers were also reported.
Majority of people living in Islamabad belong to working class. Many of these government and private sector employees are from different cities.
Due to cancellation of trains, extra burden of passengers was seen on the bus stands in the twin cities. People wanting to celebrate Eid in their hometowns with their loved ones thronged the bus stops to get seats in buses and wagons.
The bus stands at Karachi Company, Islamabad, Pir Wadhai, Marir Chowk and other areas remained overcrowded, but many had to face disappointment due to limited number of buses and wagons. Passengers also complained about misbehaviour by the staff of different bus services. Some of them could not even get seats they had reserved several days ago.
Meanwhile, like every year, Islamabad, which is called a ‘dead’ city, again presented a deserted look on Thursday, as traffic on the roads was very thin.
