Islamabad
The present government was taking several steps including up-gradation of unmanned and vulnerable railway level crossings across the country in collaboration with respective provincial governments. Sources in the Ministry of Railways in a talk with APP on Monday said that the 150-year-old faulty and obsolete signal system installed on Pakistan Railways network is considered the main reason behind the increased number of train accidents.
As many as 384 train accidents were occurred on Pakistan Railways network across the country, during the past six years, which claimed around 150 lives. They said at least 74 major and minor train accidents had occurred in last year out of which 54 inquiries had been completed and the other 20 were still under investigation. The sources said Main Line-I (ML-I) from Peshawar to Karachi track had completed its life by 55 per cent, while ML-2 and ML-3 had surpassed 82 per cent and 80 per cent of their usable lives, respectively. Pakistan Railways had filed 13 cases relating to the serious incidents and issued 24 show cause notices against employees and other officials responsible for the accidents.—APP
