SUKKUR/DADU: Five bogies of the Khushhal Khan Khattak Express derailed near Kandhkot whereas the Allama Iqbal Express broke down near Kotri on Friday.

The Karachi-bound Kushhal Khan Khattak Express coming from Peshawar met with the accident when it was about to reach Kandhkot at a slow speed.

Strong jerks and rattling sound of derailment caused a great deal of panic among passengers on board. Amid chaos inside, where women and children were screaming, a large number of male passengers jumped out of the train, which had already slowed down on the outskirts of Kandhkot.

They gathered beside the derailed bogies to realise that no fewer than five bogies had jumped off the tracks.

Allama Iqbal Express also breaks down near Kotri

Most of them returned to their respective bogies a little later but scores others stayed on for the next couple of hours anticipating early arrival of a relief train. To the utter disappointment of all passengers, no relief team arrived. It was about six hours after the accident that the railways authorities accommodated passengers of the derailed bogies in other coaches, which were then attached to the locomotive.

The derailed bogies could not be put back on tracks till late in the evening due to which the schedule of other train services was affected.

The railways authorities said that there were no casualties as the train was moving at dead slow speed when it derailed. No major damage was caused to the tracks or bogies, they added.

The passengers, however, had to undergo a painful ordeal as they remained stuck at a place where water and essential facilities could not be made available to them for six long hours.

This route for the Khushhal Khan Khattak Express has been restored only a few days back.

Allama Iqbal Express breaks downThe Punjab-bound Allama Iqbal Express coming from Karachi also broke down near Kotri station in Jamshoro district on Friday.

According to the railways authorities, the train came to a grinding halt after the wheels of its locomotive suddenly jammed.

It remained stuck for nearly two hours before the fault was rectified by the maintenance team of the railways.

All the men, women and children on board had to endure two miserable hours due to extremely hot weather as the recorded temperature in the area was above 45 degree Celsius.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2025