Dawn
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07:10 Mar 25, 2026
LAHORE: Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi said on Wednesday that “human error and some mechanical issues” were most probably the reasons behind the derailment of the Karachi-bound Tezgam express train the day before. Twenty-six passengers were injured, including one critically, when seven coaches of the train derailed near Adam Wahan Railway Station near Punjab’s Lodhran on Tuesday night. “I can not confirm before time … the reasons behind this derailment. But most probably, the reasons seem related to mechanical and human error,” Abbasi said while talking to Dawn on Wednesday morning. “You know they (Pakistan Railways) have very old coaches to run. And they have not addressed such issues well,” he deplored, adding that for the last nine years, there was no proper maintenance of the locomotives. He said that 1960 model coaches are still in use by railways, “and we are currently refurbishing them one by one — not to the extent of paint work alone, but mechanical and other works too”. The minister said...