Pakistani Train Fire

[John_Perkowski]

Pakistan Train Catches Fire, Killing More Than 70

Brief, fair use segment
“ Officials said some passengers had been preparing breakfast aboard the train, which is against regulations, when the gas cylinder fueling the stove exploded. The resulting fire quickly engulfed three cars full of passengers — two economy-class cars and one business-class car. At least 44 people were reported to have been injured.”

[STrRedWolf]

Ick. I wonder how long the ride is... and if it would of been worth it to have a cafe car in there.

[Gilbert B Norman]

29.5 hours, Mr. Redwolf

https://www.pakrail.gov.pk/PlanJourney. ... ype=Single

When I read this Times article myself yesterday, all I could think is no wonder Amtrak will not consider anything like an "Office Breakroom" food arrangement, as it sounds as this is what was aboard this train.

[Gilbert B Norman]

Additional coverage by The Times of, to me, this completely avoidable incident:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/01/worl ... -fire.html

Fair Use:

.When a passenger train rammed a rickshaw in Pakistan in 2017, killing seven schoolchildren, Imran Khan rolled the tragedy into his campaign to become prime minister, holding up the accident as a hallmark of government incompetence and corruption that only he could fix.

“The railway minister must resign,” he said at the time, insisting that it was the proper response to such a failure in a democracy. “Otherwise, he can influence the investigation.”

But Mr. Khan, now the prime minister, took a very different stance when a train caught fire on Thursday, killing at least 75 people and injuring 43 — one of the worst railway accidents in Pakistan’s history. He stood by his railway minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who, in turn, blamed passengers who had used a prohibited gas stove..

I can recall, circa 1967, a ride Northward on the ACL Florida Special. Once upon a time, it was simply an all-Pullman train (often fifteen Sleepers, and looking like a "Circus Train" as the Pullman Company yanked Sleepers from anywhere they could to make up its consists), but the Coast Line started to "gimmick it up" with amenities like "Candlelight Dinners".

Cute, I thought; but I could see potential hazards.

Amtrak, even with their "Pioneer Days gimmickery", wisely did without. Today, there is no reason whatever for there to be an open flame anywhere on a trsin.

Obviously, Pakistan Railways held differently.

[STrRedWolf]

Oh where to begin...

A government that largely has not heard of maintaining power by maintaining infrastructure.

A government run agency that has a history of shafting it's infrastructure, from top down.

A train setup with mechanical and safety faults, and fails to prevent illegal activity.

A set of passengers who flout the laws because there was no other way to survive the trip, end to end.

Everyone is at fault, but the blame lays heavily on failure to prevent the incident in the first place... and that failure is squarely on the government.

A meme is floating around Twitter that says "Welcome to America! WARNING: Entering a minimal infrastructure investment country. Proceed with caution." Pakistan is under that bar (and probably is underground as well).

[David Benton]

There would definitely be a dining car, plus no shortage of "chai" boys and other private vendors. There is never a shortage of available food on Indian trains , your bombarded with it , I doubt Pakistan is any different.
There is also no shortage of passengers who can't afford , or don't want to pay for food on board. Its difficult to see how railway management could have prevented this accident , and I think the correct decision was made re Management walking the plank over it These trains would have been so crowded it would have been difficult to check tickets , let alone enforce other rules.
The gas canisters were probably one use ones that had been refilled several times. There are roadside "Gas Wallahs" who will provide such services all over the place. They'll even service your "Bic " plastic pocket lighter, fitting a new flint and all for 10 cents or so.

[mtuandrew]

Moderator Note: it’s been a bit in General Discussion: Passenger, so I’m moving this to Worldwide Railfan. Hoping it’ll get a bit more visibility there.

[David Benton]

Thanks Andrew.Yes, there is an existing topic , but I will let them both stand , mainly because I can't figure out how to merge topics.

[Gilbert B Norman]

It seems like the "Railroad Accident of the Day Just Keeps Going and Going" on the Indian Sub Continent:

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/1 ... crash.html

Fair Use:

NEW DELHI — Two trains collided in eastern Bangladesh on Tuesday, killing at least 16 people and injuring dozens more, officials said.

Shariful Alam, a spokesman for Bangladesh’s railway department, said the collision on Tuesday occurred around 3 a.m. in the district of Brahmanbaria, where the Turna Nishita train, which was heading to Dhaka, the country’s capital, smashed into the Udayan Express, a train heading in the opposite direction.

Mr. Alam said the conductor of the Turna Nishita, who survived the accident, failed to heed a stop signal when he rammed into one of the other train’s passenger compartments, where many people were sleeping.