GUJAR KHAN, Nov 10: Federal Minister for Railways Ghulam Ahmed Bilour on Monday said people having any link to the overnight derailment of the Sialkot Express must be held responsible for the mishap.

While visiting the accident site close to the Gujar Khan railway station, Mr Bilour said authorities who cleared the train with an apparently malfunctioning braking mechanism should be brought to the book, adding that officials who ignored improper arrangements for stopping runaway locomotives should also be charged with dereliction of duty.

He said train accidents not only resulted in casualties, but also caused huge financial losses to the Pakistan Railway in the form of destroyed locomotives and bogies.

“Train journey is the most preferred and relaxed way of travel and Pakistan Railway has great potential to attract customers,” Mr Bilour said.

But he regretted that negligence of some railway staff was driving the people away from this convenient and economical mode of transportation.

He instructed Pakistan Railway Divisional Superintendent (Rawalpindi) Abdul Jabber Khan, who was accompanying him, to ensure that Sunday’s accident was “the last derailment”.

The divisional superintendent told the minister that an enquiry report was being prepared by a special committee set up by him, on which Mr Bilour said it should not be a traditional enquiry that threw the responsibility on minions.

Later, the railway officer flanked by PR engineers remained at the site and supervised the retrieval of the derailed locomotive and the bogie.