SAHIWAL: Seven freight wagons of a coal train derailed at the Chichawatni railway station on Friday.

According to a press release by the PR Multan division, seven empty wagons of the train derailed when it entered the station and got stuck on the parallel tracks, halting the Up and Down railway traffic on the Lahore-Khanewal section for several hours.

The freight train regularly shuttles between Yousafwala and Karachi to supply coal to 1,320MW Sahiwal coal-fired power plant near Qadirabad.

It was headed for Karachi from Yousafwala. A heavy crane was called from the Khanewal junction to move the derailed wagons.

Assistant Engineer Mr Javed told Dawn by phone that a committee had been formed to probe the derailment. It is the seventh derailment of the coal train since January this year.

PR’s Multan division superintendent Naveed Mubasher said the traffic was restored at 9pm.

He said since the wagons were empty, the derailment did not cause any major damage to the track.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2021