NAROWAL: A dilapidated railway bridge on a rainwater drain near Qila Ahmadabad railway station poses risk to the safety of two passenger trains that run between Lahore and Sialkot daily.

According to some passengers who frequently travel by the Allama Iqbal Express and Lasani Express on the track linking Lahore and Sialkot via Narowal, around a century-old pillars of the bridge had developed cracks some three years back, but the Pakistan Railways authorities did not take the issue seriously.

They warned that the dilapidated bridge could cause a major tragedy as two crowded passenger trains cross it twice daily, leaving Sialkot in the morning and returning to the city in the evening.

The Allama Iqbal Express is usually more crowded as it is also a major rail link between Sialkot and Karachi, they added.

Instead of building a new bridge on the rainwater drain, the railway department only installed iron girders along the track as an ad hoc measure, they regretted.

“Every time the train crosses this crumbling bridge there is a panic among the passengers, especially women and the children,” Allama Iqbal train’s passenger Muhammad Adeel said.

Imran Khokhar, a resident of Sialkot who daily travels to Lahore by the train and returns to his native city in the evening, said:“For the last three years, we have been filing complaints to the railways authorities and the prime minister, demanding construction of a new bridge at the site, but to no avail.”

Hafiz Abdul Quyum, another passenger, said that instead of waiting for a tragedy the PR authorities should take immediate steps for building a new bridge to ensure the passengers’ safety.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2021