Summary Government has announced Rs 500,000 compensations for families of the victims.
GUJRANWALA (Dunya News) – Train service has resumed today (Friday) after workers removed engine and coaches of a Rawalpindi-bound train that derailed from its track near Gujranwala.
On Thursday, four bogies of the train travelling from Lahore to Rawalpindi derailed near the Gujranwala City Railway Station, killing two people and injuring several others standing on the roadside.
The dead included a woman and a child.
Deputy Superintendent of Railways Humayun told reporters that the accident took place after the train failed to stop at its designated location.
Today, Railways Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique also visited the accident site and announced Rs 0.5 million compensation for families of the victims. .
Pakistan maintains a poor railway system based on British era track and old coaches. Many Pakistanis avoid traveling by train due to the low safety standards and unsatisfactory facilities.
Earlier this month, fourteen members of an extended family were killed when a speeding train hit a motorcycle rickshaw at an unmanned level-crossing near Khanpur village, about 50 kilometres from Gujranwala.
In one of the worst railway accidents in the country's history, three passenger trains collided on July 13, 2005 at the Sarhad Railway Station near Ghotki, resulting in deaths of over 150 people.
Railway authorities had said one of the trains failed to stop after the driver misread the signal, resulting in the massive triple-train collision.
On January 3, 1990, around 350 people were killed in an accident at Sangi, some 15km from Sukkur, which is said to be the biggest ever train accident in Pakistan.
