At least 10 bogies of a freight train derailed near Gowalmandi, adjacent area to Rawalpindi Railway Station, but no loss of life was reported. According to details, a freight train bearing engine No 5219 of Rohri division, carrying 28 bogies, 24 of them loaded with construction material including crushed stones were on its way to Lahore Badami Bagh.
The train driver lost the control over the engine, which resulted in derailing of over 10 bogies of the train. The accident caused blockade of railway traffic for many hours and after diversion of traffic, trains started moving from and to Rawalpindi. Chief Controller of Pakistan Railways Rawalpindi Khalid Farooq said that the driver lost the control over train from Noor Station, adjacent area of Rawalpindi and he raised hue and cry well in time.
He said that 10 bogies derailed when train crossed the Rawalpindi Station but no loss of life took place and situation was completely under control. He said taking prompt action, railway traffic was diverted to another line to evade any untoward incident.
Efforts were undertaken to clear the main line, which had been blocked due to derailment. Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour visited the Rawalpindi Railways Station and directed the staff to clear the main line at the earliest.