HYDERABAD: Nine coal-laden wagons of a Sahiwal-bound freight train and their engine derailed in Kotri railway station’s yard on Thursday afternoon, causing minor injuries to the locomotive’s driver.

According to railway officials, Wazir Ali, the driver of Yusufwala freight train, failed to apply brakes as per standard operating procedures when he was approaching the railway station for a stopover. The derailment damaged outer wall of Natho Shah Bukhari’s shrine when some wagons hit it at 12.35pm, said officials.

The officials said the driver applied brake at location 174km that was within the railway station whereas he was supposed to start braking at location 167km, more than five kilometres from the station, and this was not in line with the locomotives’ operational practice.

It was an error on the driver’s part as far as his observation was concerned. The driver crossed a considerable part of the railway station after applying brakes but still ended up stopping the train within the station’s yard, said an official.

As the driver failed to apply brakes at the required location it led to overshooting and caused derailment. Around a kilometre stretch was normally covered by a train after application of brakes, according to an official at Kotri railway station. Till 8pm, two wagons were put back on the track by labourers, he said.

The official claimed that as per SOPs this freight train made a 20-minute stopover at the Kotri railway station for the purpose of change of driver and guards and meeting other necessities.

According to an official Tariq Asad, a piece of track measuring around 100 to 250 feet was damaged, which was repaired by evening. He said the train was not on the main line, therefore the rail traffic was not suspended and the work went on continuously. The train would soon head for its destination, he said.

On an average around five to six freight trains pass through the track in a day. Another railway official said that axel load of a coal-laden wagon was higher. “The track upstream Kotri railway station and downstream Karachi is relatively better,” he said.

Driver’s version

Driver Mohammad Wazir told local reporters that he had informed officials at the Kotri railway station about failure of the locomotive’s brakes, our Dadu Correspondent adds.

Wazir claimed that the railways staff at Karachi changed the train’s track and put it on the loop line after which it hit the protection guards/pillars and slowed down.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2021