Bogey 96329’s vanished cargo

Strange episode of missing coal is another indictment of rotting Railways  

The Pakistan Railways, one of two inheritors of the once exemplary rail system of the Raj, is now a pathetic symbol of inefficiency, irresponsibility, corruption, mismanagement and a lack of the massive investment needed for its upgrade. Tragic accidents with a heavy toll of life are frequent, such as the three-train Ghotki crash of July 2005, while others involved head to head collision or ramming of a stationary locomotive, apart from the lives lost at unmanned railway crossings. Instead of expert analysis conducted on professional lines, accidents are usually hushed up, with the axe falling on minions, like sleeping engine drivers and negligent station masters, or on infrastructure failures such as railway tracks, bridges and signaling systems. The Railways Minister is, of course, above this mundane fray, and evades his ultimate responsibility for the many deaths by flimsy parallels.

Now the railway has come up with another dubious first, the mysterious removal of 22 (70 by one account) tonnes of coal from a freight carriage on its way from Port Qasim to the Sahiwal coal-fired plant. The loss remained undetected by the railway police and other functionaries and only the Chinese engineers at the plant raised an alarm. The hopper wagons used for hauling coal are popular worldwide as they can unload 70 tonnes manually or mechanically in just 30 seconds. There is talk of an inadvertent unloading (‘dumping’) by someone mistakenly pressing the manual lever, but no traces of any coal were found in the thirty mile stretch from the train’s last stop and Sahiwal, nor were there any witnesses of a heist. Two investigation teams have been constituted, but surprisingly, no time frame was set for completion of their inquiries.

The 1320 mw plant is expected to start supplying the national grid from June, but if shipments arrive in this haphazard, diminished manner, plant efficiency can be slowed down, damaging government credibility and annoying the Chinese working on this project. Quick solving of the mystery is a must, along with necessary preventive measures.