Rail traffic in Sindh was paralysed on Sunday when 17 wagons of a freight train derailed in Matiari district near the Wahab Shah Railway Station, wreaking havoc on one of the major railway corridors in Pakistan.
The train was derailed and halted the train service as both the up and down tracks were blocked, according to Pakistan Railways officials. The restoration can take as long as 24 hours before rail operations resume, authorities estimate.
Several passenger trains were stranded at several stations. Karakoram Express was stopped at Hyderabad, Allama Iqbal Express at Kotri, Pakistan Express at Landhi, and Millat Express and Fareed Express both were stopped at Karachi Cantonment.
According to officials, the freight train carrying coal from Karachi to Yousafwala derailed near Wahab Shah Railway Station, resulting in heavy damage to the railway infrastructure.
There were no casualties or injuries.
A team of railway engineers and rescue workers worked immediately on the spot, and further trains have been stopped at stations such as Tando Adam, Hyderabad, Karachi and Rohri as precautionary measures.
Relief trains from Rohri and Kotri have arrived in the affected area to help in the recovery process, Sukkur Divisional Superintendent of Pakistan Railways Farman Ghani told reporters. He said it would take time to repair the track as there is significant damage to it, and the workers will be removing the derailed wagons from the track and resuming rail service as soon as possible.
Karachi to soon use AI traffic monitoring system
Earlier, it was announced that Karachi Traffic Police will extend its artificial intelligence (AI) based traffic monitoring system to more roads by August 2026.
The new areas will include Airport Road, Clifton, and the Do Talwar and Teen Talwar junctions of the city.
DIG Traffic Pir Muhammad Shah said that the system is currently being tested on Shahrah-e-Faisal. It is one of the busiest roads in Karachi.
Twenty high quality Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras have been installed there. These cameras watch traffic violations 24/7 to Drigh Road.
Read more: Karachi to use AI traffic monitoring on THESE major roads
Also read:
