LAHORE: A joint team is likely to complete by Thursday (July 9) its investigation into the recent accident of a special train near Gujranwala.

Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said at a press conference here on Monday that the investigation team comprising army and railway officers had sought time to complete the work.

“No initial report about the accident has been prepared and the joint team is considering all possibilities. However, some elements are trying to declare that the tracks and bridge were not fit for railway operations,” he said.

The minister said the condition of both the tracks and the Chanawan Bridge was fine and even after the accident all but one of its pillars remained intact.

Railway engineers confirmed that there was no speed limit for the tracks and the Pakistan Express had passed the bridge at 65km per hour before the accident.

“We have evidence that the locomotive derailed at a place about 945 feet away from the bridge. Some nuts and bolts of the tracks and fishplates were found either loose or broken at the spot.”

However, the minister said, it was yet to be ascertained whether the nuts and bolts had loosened because of the derailment or had been intentionally tampered with.

He said the investigation team was working without any pressure to find the reason behind the train’s unusually high speed.

The deceased driver had a lot of experience but he did not halt at a ‘dead stop’ which was about 26km ahead of the bridge.

Replying to a question, the minister said an army officer was also in the locomotive at the time of the accident and the team had recorded his statement.

The team is also examining whether there was a mechanical fault in the locomotive which had been in the railway fleet since 1967 and had been rehabilitated in 2003 for 15 years.

Of the 13,959 railway bridges in the country, only 50 are being repaired. Chanawan is not on the list of bridges requiring repair.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2015

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