Railways Conducts Seminar On Safety

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Feb, 2021 ) :A seminar elaborating the causes of global train accidents and way forward for surmounting them here on Tuesday was held at Pakistan Railways Divisional Superintendent Office.

Incumbent Deputy Chief Operating Superintendent (Safety) Tariq Aziz Kolachi and his predecessor Muhammad Ali Chachar shared their experience with the audiences, said a news release.

The speakers stated that provision of safe and secure journey to the valued passengers was the fundamental objective of railways' systems and operations globally but unfortunately accidents and untoward situations happened at global level also. There were five causes of them in sequential order: frequent trespassing, negligent working and human error, track maintenance issues, defects in rolling stock and defects in signal and interlocking system.

Some less common reasons included: maintenance of power and train lighting, sabotage or terrorism and natural disasters.

Nevertheless frequent trespassing appeared to be the most common cause of accidents that happen due to multiple reasons. Deliberate trespassing was caused owing to slum areas near the railways' track; hastiness by the road users in reaching their destination; crossing of stray animals; suicide attempts at track and last but not least the Tik Tok Syndrome.

The seminar unveiled journey by railways' mode as the second most safest, after journey by air, as per the evaluation of European Railways Agency. Campaign against hazards of trespassing, strict monitoring and timely maintenance of railways' entire infrastructure and installation were defined as the major way forwards that can drastically curtail the happening of accidents.