The passengers slammed the government for paying no attention to overhaul the dilapidated railway tracks between Shorkot Cantt and Jhang and said that the only train " Hazara express" on this track wich can be derailed anytime, Passengers pray to God for safe passage of this track. A Passenger Habib-ullah told that Railway authorities of Multan Division are awaiting a catastrophic accident like Ghotki where 65 passengers were killed and more than 100 injured. A railway employee admitted that railway authorities had shut their eyes and awaiting news of derailment in spite of being repeatedly apprised of the poor train safety, adding that they had attached their expectation with the ML-1 project which was delayed due to non-availability of funds . Believe it or not, but it is true that Hazara express is taking six to seven hours for 170 miles (273 km)distance between Multan and Sargodha via Jhang. Travelers informed the dismal condition of the railway tracks in Multan Division, saying that any untoward incident could take place any day.“Most of the accidents on railways tracks have taken place due to the government’s lack of willingness to rehabilitate the tracks in the last three years,” they said, adding that the government should talk about its performance instead of blaming the previous governments. Lawmakers of South Punjab reaffirmed that the Divisional Superintendent Multan had apprised the head quarter about the poor maintenance of tracks, saying he had written to the railways authorities several times but to no avail. They said that the DS would get the same answer to all his complaints: “We would fix the issues when the work starts on ML-1”.They questioned, “who will be responsible for casualties or losses in case of any mishap especially, when the DS had already informed the high-ups about the poor condition of the railways tracks in his division”.They said that Railway Minister, Chairman Railway,Secretary Railway Board should travel in neglected trains on such track between Shorkot-Jhang-Sargodha, Kotadu-Kashmor via Dera Ghazi Khan,Kotadu -Kundian, Sama Satta- Pakpattan-Lahore, Bhawalpur- Bahawalnagar section. These all fall in Multan division.People say,Managerial failures, overstaffing, poor transport policy, slashing the budget and increasing liabilities are some of the major factors In addition, they said that the political interference, coupled with ‘nepotism and corruption’, poor maintenance of tracks and bridges and mismanagement are some other causes contributing to the failure of Pakistan Railways.continuously contributing to the dismal condition of the rail transport system.
Railway authorities are still reluctant to re-introduce Sandhal passenger to facilitate the people of Multan, Tatepur, Khanewal,Makhdoompur Pahoran,Abdul Hakim,Rustam Sargana, Gilmala,Jhang Sadar, Jhang city, Chund, Shah Jewena, Shah Nikdar, Sobhaga, Sillanwali ,Shaheenabad etc inspite of elapsing 15 months. Even Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) demanded for restoration of all trains originated from Multan to promote business activities and to facilitate the working class.
