One dead, 13 injured as Shalimar Express derails after colliding with goods train in Naushahro Feroze

• Locomotive and several passenger coaches derailed and capsized in the collision, disrupting traffic on main line

• Rescue 1122 recovers one fatality and provided first aid to 13 injured passengers

• Federal Minister Hanif Abbasi orders high-level inquiry, report due in three days

 KARACHI/LAHORE: At least one person was killed and 13 others injured on Sunday after the Lahore-bound Shalimar Express collided with a stationary goods train at Lakha Road Railway Station in Sindh’s Naushahro Feroze district, causing the locomotive and several coaches to derail and capsize, officials from Pakistan Railways and Rescue 1122 said.

Railway authorities said the freight train was parked at the station when the Shalimar Express collided with it. Upon receiving news of the accident, railway officials and police teams rushed to the site to begin rescue operations and an initial assessment.

In a statement, Sindh’s Rescue 1122 said that its Urban Search and Rescue teams from the Bandhi satellite station reached the site shortly after the alert. The team recovered a fatality, while the injured were provided first aid and evacuated to nearby medical facilities.

However, Pakistan Railways (PR) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Amir Ali Baloch denied that no casualties were reported in the incident.

According to railways officials, as the Shalimar Express approached Lakha Road Station, the interlocking system was set so the train veered toward a loop line where the goods train was parked. The driver immediately applied the brakes, but the train collided with the stationary freight train, derailing the locomotive and several coaches.

Shalimar Express’s driver, Haji Fayyaz, told Dawn News that “the kanta (interlocking/signalling system) was set for the loop line, whereas we had to pass the station without stopping. The brakes also did not work properly, and the signal was red.”

Sources said the collision disrupted traffic on the main line, prompting the dispatch of a relief train to remove the damaged locomotive, coaches, and wagons.

Minister Orders Inquiry

A spokesperson for Pakistan Railways said that Federal Minister Hanif Abbasi had taken notice of the collision and ordered a high-level inquiry. “A three-member inquiry team has been constituted and instructed to submit its report to the ministry within three days,” the statement said.

The inquiry aims to determine those responsible for the incident, with the minister warning that those responsible “will face the music.”

Meanwhile, CEO Baloch suggested that driver negligence may have caused the accident. He explained, “If one of the two signals was red, the driver was supposed to stop. If the interlocking system was set for the loop line, the driver should have understood he needed to halt.”

However, he stressed that definitive conclusions could only be drawn after the inquiry. The committee investigating the collision comprises three officers of grade 19, tasked with providing a detailed report on the incident.