Two express trains narrowly escape crash

LAHORE: As the malfunctioning of railways signalling and track interlocking system continues, train drivers have averted six accidents since the July 11 Akbar Express crash into a stationary goods train at the Walhar Station in Rahim Yar Khan district which left 24 passengers dead.

On Friday, the driver of Lahore-bound Khyber Mail averted a major crash when he managed to stop the train by applying emergency brakes as Fareed Express was already stationed at the Mehrabpur station loop line in Naushahro Feroze, Sindh.

“The driver found the outer signal green and yellow which meant that the train was to be diverted to the loop line where Fareed Express was already stationed.

Had the driver failed to stop Khyber Mail, another tragedy like Walhar would have occurred. It is the sixth such happening after July 11 in which the drivers managed to escape major accidents,” PR’s Train Drivers Association Chairman Shams Pervaiz said.