Daily Times

The relief operation at the site of the Ghotki train accident was completed on Tuesday. The engine and 17 coaches were recovered, while the trains were restored. According to DS Railway Sukkur Tariq Latif, traffic has been restored on the railway track after 29 hours. He said that the railway track was closed at 3:40 am on Monday, which has been restored after a 29-hour standstill.

DS Railway Sukkur said that the trains stopped from Sunday have now started running towards their destination. He added that the speed of trains on the affected track has been kept low at present.

According to railway officials, the Zakaria Express reached the crash site, which will be traversed shortly, while repair work on the affected down track is underway.

Tariq Latif also said that 35 passenger trains were stopped at various stations due to the accident.

According to the railway spokesperson, Allama Iqbal Express, Pakistan Express, Jinnah Express, Karakoram Express, Pak Business Express, Millat Express, Karachi Express, Tezgam, Zakaria Express and Sir Syed Express have also been canceled.

The spokesperson said that all the trains have been canceled on technical grounds only for today so the passengers who have confirmed tickets will be refunded 100%.

According to the spokesperson, Mehran Express, Green Line and Khyber Mail Express from Karachi Cantt to Mirpur Khas will leave on time while Sukkur Express from Karachi to Rohri Jacobabad will also leave on time.

According to the preliminary investigation report, the accident took place due to breakage of the welding joint of the right track of the up track. The joint of the right track of the up track was connected to the welding which was found broken. 12 passenger coaches of Millat Express down track Fell down

The investigation report said that the Sir Syed Express heading to Karachi collided with the coaches of Millat Express on the down track and as a result of the accident the engine and four coaches of Sir Syed Express derailed while the engine and 6 passenger coaches of Millat Express remained on the track. 12 passenger coaches of Sir Syed Express remain on track.

According to the report, black box data of the engines of the crashed trains is being extracted. The information obtained from the black box will be included in the investigation of the Federal Inspectors of Railways.

The report further said that Sir Syed Express was going from Rawalpindi to Karachi and Millat Express was going from Karachi to Sargodha.

It is to be noted that the death toll in the train accident has risen to 62 while more than 100 people have been injured.