LAHORE, Jan 31: The derailment of nine coaches of Lahore non-stop near Domeli station was not an act of sabotage, senior retired and serving railway officials believe.

“Human error may be the cause of the derailment but it is not an act of sabotage,” they claimed.

“There is a two kilometres long curve before the Domeli railway station. It is a mountainous area and the train speed should not be more than 60 km per hour, especially after sunset. The locomotive driver had told railway authorities that his speed was 85 km per hour at the time of derailment,” a retired federal government inspector of railways said.

“If the driver is innocent why he has been kept in custody?” he asked.

The Chenab Express had passed the Domeli 45 minutes before the derailment. “It is not possible to unscrew and detach six fish plates from the track within 45 minutes, especially in darkness,” he said.

“The overspeeding train overshot and derailed,” the former FGIR said.

An in-service chief engineer said the entire track on the Lahore-Rawalpindi section was replaced in the year 2001.

“The rake and the locomotives were also new. It seems driver Amin Khan was short of time,” he said and added the drivers had been asked to bring the non-stop trains within three-and-a-half hours from Rawalpindi to Lahore and vice versa.

Regarding the presence of some tools near the track, he said the wrenches bearing railway serial numbers might have fallen from the power van which also derailed.