• Officials term fault in wheels ‘very, very serious’
• Public asked to record witness statements on Aug 16-17

HYDERABAD: With a probe into the Aug 6 Hazara Express derailment already underway, following the inspection of damaged tracks, coaches, etc, Federal Government Inspector Railways (FGIR) Ali Mohammad Afridi is set to visit Nawabshah railway station on Aug 16 to record statements by anyone intending to give evidence.

He would then go to Sukkur for collecting similar testimonies on Aug 17.

Those wishing to send statements in writing can submit by post to the FGIR, a Grade-22 officer who holds the highest authority for investigating major accidents, said a Pakistan Railways statement on Thursday.

The fact-finding exercise into the tragedy, which claimed 30 lives, would focus on how the train’s engine was allowed to proceed following the detection of a fault in its wheels at Kotri station — which was addressed through a temporary fix — and how the weaknesses in the track were overlooked.

From Kotri, the ill-fated train was allowed to go further only to meet with the accident at the outer signal of Sarhari in district Sanghar. Kotri station falls in the territorial jurisdiction of Karachi division.

In its initial action, PR has suspended Hafiz Badarul Arfeen (BS-18), divisional executive engineer, Sukkur division; Atif Ashfaq (BS-18), works manager diesel, Karachi division; Mohammad Majeed (BS-17), assistant executive engineer, Nawabshah; Mohammad Arif, permanent way inspector, Shahdadpur; Bashir Ahmed, power controller, Kotri railway station; and Kangle, a keyman, who is part of the group that visits the particular beat of the track.

“An inquiry is to be conducted to find out what sort of coordination was established between the concerned power controller at Kotri railway station and divisional engineer of Karachi division before the train was cleared for further travel,” Nasir Khalili, PR’s divisional superintendent for Karachi division, told Dawn.

A former DS told Dawn that the divisional executive engineer runs a big set-up with inspectors and assistants for regular maintenance of the track. “The officer holding the post has to ensure the safety of the track through several officials,” he said, adding that the works manager was tasked with supervision of engines in the shed. A power controller, who chooses the engine for different trains, was immediately answerable to the works manager.

“Staff in PR’s shed works under the power controller to see which engine is to be fitted to the bogies,” he added. “It is to be seen what sort of coordination between power controller and superior officer was established that allowed engine of this ill-fated train to continue after temporary fault rectification in its wheels. These are the things to be fixed in a detailed inquiry,” said the former officer.

According to a serving railway officer, “This engine should not have been allowed to proceed considering the fact that fault a in the wheels is always a very, very sensitive matter. I wonder how it was allowed to go on after some fault was noticed.”

He said that since the track had been uprooted as a result of the accident, the divisional executive engineer of Sukkur had been suspended. “The divisional engineer is supposed to ensure upkeep of track. Likewise, permanent way inspector is responsible for maintenance of track falling in his area. The permanent way inspector is primarily responsible for track’s safety,” he pointed out.

In this case, it is the Shahdadpur-Mehrabpur stretch of track where the tragedy took place. “Had the track been strong, the train would have stopped and bogies would not have derailed,” he said. “The fact that this didn’t happen points to a weakness in the track,” commented the officer.

A keyman works under the permanent way inspector. “Around 3.5km area is primary responsibility of keyman to keep looking at the track. He is supposed to keep checking the track and tighten screws and bolts after finding anything unsatisfactory or report the mater to the permanent way inspector ,” he remarked.

About the divisional superintendent’s role, he said that the DS was ‘generally’ responsible for administrative and financial matters involving his staff and PR headquarters.

“Rest of responsibilities are clearly defined since most of them are of technical nature,” he said.

Hazara Express is said to have remained halted at Kotri station for 22 minutes after arriving from the Karachi Cantonment station and then it was allowed to go. The suspended officials/officers are also likely to appear before the inquiry officer.

PR’s Sukkur division has become prone to major disasters and one of former Sukkur division superintendents had highlighted all defects in the track and overall state of up and down country tracks of the division in 2020-2021.

Khalid Hasnain in Lahore also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2023