By By Qadeer Tanoli
The Pakistan Railways signal system from Karachi to Sukkur, which was damaged by mobs after the assassination of Benazair Bhutto on December 27, 2007, is yet to be completely restored. These faulty signals have been cited as one reason for the collision on Tuesday morning of a passenger train and a goods train at Juma Goth, sources in Pakistan Railways claimed.
The entire signalling system of the railways has become obsolete and it needs immediate replacement, they said, adding that this was the reason trains were always late.
Different signalling systems are being used by the railways from Karachi to upcountry destinations and at many points signals are being run manually which may invite human error to cause some incident. It may be possible that the driver of the passenger train had not observed the red signal at the down track which was given to him at the Juma Goth, sources said.
They added that the driver of the passenger train had tried to apply emergency brakes which failed and the train collided with the goods train.
It was also learnt that the drivers and their assistants were not being given enough time to take proper rest; they often work 12- to 16-hour shifts and get exhausted.
Railways Workers Union (RWU) Central Chairman Manzoor Razi told the News that drivers and other technical staff concerned should be given enough time to rest. They should also be given proper salaries, he said. As per the rules, nobody can be forced to work more than eight hours in a day, Razi said, adding that strict measures should be adopted to enforce these rules.
RWU-Open-line Secretary General Rao Nasim demanded that the dilapidated system of the railways be replaced. He said that the wages paid to railways employees, such as gangmen (people who keep tracks in running condition) and Kantaywalas (people who mange traffic signals) are extremely meagre. They are paid around Rs6,000 per month, which is not enough to keep up their spirit for performing such sensitive jobs.