LAHORE: Rail traffic from the Punjab capital to southern parts of the country remained suspended for three hours or so on Tuesday when a Rawalpindi-bound express train hit a freight train near the Lahore railway station.

No passenger of the Green Line Express was injured and the condition of its driver was stated to be stable in a hospital.

The locomotive of Green Line Express and the brake van of the freight train were severely damaged in the accident. All coaches of Green Line Express remained on the track while three wagons of the freight train fell on the other track suspending rail traffic on the Lahore-Karachi route till 6.25pm.

The track blockage delayed departure of Karachi-bound Business Express and Night Coach, besides Multan Express.

Minister for Railways Khwaja Saad Rafique ordered a thorough investigation into the accident which occurred, according to a preliminary probe, due to malfunctioning of the signal system at the Lahore railway station.

An official of the Pakistan Railways Lahore Division told Dawn that Green Line Express hit the freight train halted near the washing line soon after it left the Lahore station at 2.40pm, half an hour late than its scheduled departure time because of delayed arrival from Karachi. The freight train was halted there after the outer signal of the Lahore railway station developed a fault.

The driver of Green Line Express continued journey as he found the outer signal green.

Quoting eyewitnesses, the railway official said the Green Line driver applied emergency brakes but due to short distance the locomotive smashed into the brake van of the freight train. “The train was running at slow speed, otherwise the damage would have been immense,” said the official while seeking anonymity.

Railways Lahore Divisional Superintendent Sufian Sarfraz Dogar said work to clear the track started minutes after the accident. “Rail traffic to and from Lahore has been fully restored. The (affected) Green Line Express was brought to Lahore station through Mughalpura and has been sent to Rawalpindi,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2018