Train accidents where bridges collapsed, brakes failed

LAHORE: The deadliest-ever train accident involving a bridge collapse had occurred on June 6, 1981 in the Indian state of Bihar, when a passenger train carrying 800 or more passengers had derailed from a bridge and plunged in River Baghmati, killing over 500 people.(References: BBC, New York Times and Reuters)
As far as the worst train accident involving deaths of military personnel is concerned, research conducted by the “Jang Group and Geo Television Network” reveals that on December 12, 1917, a French train carrying its troops from Italy during World War I had experienced a brake failure, leading to its derailment and subsequent fire. Of the 800 humans who had died in this incident, only 425 bodies could be identified.
In fact, the overloaded troop train carrying over 1,000 soldiers had run out of driver’s control after coming down a steep gradient, making it the worst-ever rail disaster in France.On April 11, 1918, some 29 men of the Liverpool Regiment were killed in a troop train explosion near France.
In 1939, some 227 soldiers of the battalion of Royal Scots, who were going to fight in World War II, were burnt alive near Quintinshill in Great Britain, making the worst train tragedy in United Kingdom history. At least 246 troops had sustained injuries.
Although train accidents are occurring regularly since 1833, including the world’s worst 2004 Sri Lankan accident that had left over 1,700 dead, some have left lasting memories on the human mind.
In Pakistan’s case, apart from the military train tragedy of Thursday, numerous catastrophes of similar nature have left the nation mourning since 1953.
Here follows brief details of some Pakistan-related train accidents that readily come to mind:
In 1953, some 200 people were killed in a railway accident at Jhampir.
In 1954, at least 60 people were killed in an accident at Jang Shahi.
In 1969, over 80 people were killed in the Liaquat Pur railway accident.
On October 22, 1987, at least 28 people were killed and 60 others injured when a bus had collided with a train near the city of Moro, about 200 miles north of Karachi.
On the night between January 3 and January 4, 1990, 350 people were killed in a train accident at Sangi village, near Pannu Aqil Cantonment, some 15km from Sukkur.
This particular incident is said to be the worst accident of its kind in Pakistan’s 67-year history.
According to the “Los Angeles Times,” television footages had showed rows of bodies wrapped in blankets near the wreckage of an overcrowded 16-carriage and 1,408-seat Bahauddin Express carrying passengers from Multan to Karachi that had switched onto the wrong track to hit a 67-car freight train standing at a village station. The locomotive was overturned and several cars were crushed or ripped open.
Over 700 people were injured in this disaster.
The investigation found railway staff to be ‘directly responsible’ for the disaster. Three staff on duty at Sangi station were charged with manslaughter
On June 8, 1991, according to the American news agency “Associated Press,” a crowded passenger train slammed into a freight train, killing at least 100 people. This Karachi-Lahore-Islamabad express had crashed into the freight train parked at the station in Ghotki, 400 miles north of Karachi.
In November 1992, 54 people were killed in an accident at the Ghotki railway station after a passenger train had rammed into the back of a freight train. Over 1,000 troops of Pakistan Army were sent to the crash site in Reti, 290 miles northeast of Karachi, to help rescue passengers from the wreckage of the Chenab Express.
On March 3, 1997, at least 14 people were killed and about 100 injured in a train crash near Khanewal city.
Officials said six cars of a Karachi-bound passenger train had derailed after it failed to stop at a junction and was diverted onto a dead-end track to avoid a more serious collision.
On July 13, 2005, at least 110 people perished after Quetta Express was hit from behind at Ghotki station by another train (Karachi Express), which had missed a signal. The collision had caused several of the cars to derail. The derailed cars were subsequently hit by a third train (Tezgam). The three trains were carrying over 3,000 passengers altogether. Some people had even claimed that the death toll was around 500.
In August 2005, an upcountry Super Parcels Express had jumped the rails while crossing the Malir Bridge near Landhi in Karachi Division. Eight bogies were substantially damaged when an axle had broken due to over loading.
In August 2006, seven coaches of Lahore Express had jumped the rails near Domeli, a station 33 kms short of Jhelum. Four of the coaches had plunged into a 50 feet ravine.
In February 2006, at least one person was killed and 30 others were injured when Lahore-bound Karakoram Express had derailed near Bahawalpur.
It was again in February 2006 that a Chinese container train carrying chemicals had collided with a stationary oil train some 180 kilometres from Karachi. The action had sparked a fire but luckily there were no casualties. The train carrying oil was on the track at the station when a northbound goods train had hit it from behind and a fire broke out. At least 18 wagons of the goods train were burnt out in the blaze, and some oil was spilled at the scene.
In December 2007, nearly 50 people died in a derailment incident near the town of Mehrabpur in Sindh. Some 14 of the 16 carriages of the train had left the tracks, some being mangled by the crash, others simply sliding down an embankment into the water.
In July 2013, at least 14 members of an extended family were killed by a speeding train that hit a motorcycle rickshaw near Khanpur village, about 50 kilometres from Gujranwala.
It was also in July 2013 that two people lost lives when a Rawalpindi-bound train derailed from its tracks near Gujranwala.
And in October 2014, a goods train hit a freight train near Ran Pathani, leading to the demise of an assistant driver.