Lahore:
While Punjab is advancing with Pakistan’s first high -speed train plans, the country’s existing rail infrastructure – prey to derailments, decrepit tracks and defective signals – casts a doubt on the feasibility of such a ambitious project.
The details collected by L’Express PK Press Club reveal that more than 6,500 kilometers of railways, built since the creation of Pakistan, have exceeded their natural life and are now in a state of dilapidation. However, the absence of a rescue package for rail improvements and insufficient funds for the repairs of the track has contributed to numerous train derailments.
According to Sources de l’Express PK Press Club, more than 200 trains derailment incidents have been reported each year in Punjab in the past four years. In 2021, 280 derailment incidents of freight and passenger trains on the main lines and branches were reported, followed by 230 incidents in 2022, 250 in 2023, 270 in 2024 and 130 incidents in the first four months of 2025. The majority of derailment incidents were reported by the Sukkur division, followed by Lahore, Rawpindi, Peshawa and Queta.
According to Muhammad Sabir Awan, an expert in the railways, an incorrect alignment between the train and the track and non-compliance with the sops given by the Department of Engineering and Mechanics for Road Safety was the main reasons for most cases of derailment. “The work of the divisional superintendent is to inspect the train and follow its division. This inspection must be carried out at least once a week, but this rarely occurs, because of which nuts, bolts and dysfunction signaling systems derail the trains.
Shahid Nazir and Muhammad Ammar Aslam, who frequently take a train from Lahore to Okara, revealed the rail infrastructure. “The coaches are derailed the second or third day of racing on the tracks. Consequently, we end a two -hour trip in six to eight hours. The government should improve the rail system,” the passengers urged.
The former chief engineer of the Pakistani railways Muhammad Afzal Bajwa revealed that each rail system had a given lifespan, after which it had to be improved. “Unfortunately, Pakistan Railways uses railways from the British era. So far, we have only doubled Lahore in Lodhran, which has been done during the Musharraf era. Until the government provides funds for improving the track, the trains will continue to derail.
Addressing the Express PK Press Club on the issue, the president of the Pakistani railways (Union Pre-Union) Sheikh Muhammad Anwar thought that government’s negligence was mainly responsible for derailments. “The government builds roads, roads and highways, but it has neither the funds nor time to repair the railways. Contributions worth 7 billion rupees are still due to government employees since 2019. Lifespan, “confirmed Anwar.
Asked about the situation, Babar Ali Raza, Director General of Public Relations, Pakistan Railways, said: “We have imposed engineering restrictions on low tracks to prevent derailment – these speed limits define the speed limits which cannot be exceeded at certain times.” The Minister of Railways, he said, launched 13 projects worth RS11 billion to strengthen vulnerable sections. “If we review the data of the last decade, the rate of victims – although it should ideally be zero – decreases regularly due to the measures taken, and we expect this downward trend to continue,” said Raza.
