DAMMAM, 16 May — One person was injured as a Riyadh-bound express train hit a car at an unmanned railway crossing between Dammam and Abqaiq yesterday, the Saudi Railways Organization said in a statement.
According to an eyewitness account, train No. 7 was on its way from Dammam to Riyadh at normal speed when a motorist tried to pass through the 16th crossing between Half Moon Bay and Abqaiq.
The train hit the car, which was severely damaged.
The train was delayed for a few hours but later proceeded to its destination.
Railway officials said the train service between Dammam and Riyadh remained unaffected.
The nationality of the injured person was not disclosed. However, he was reported to be alone in his car. He was rushed to Dammam Central Hospital and is now out of danger.
There has been a spate of train accidents recently. A few months ago in Dammam, a goods train hit a car, killing its two occupants instantly. In another accident, an expatriate died when a train rammed into his car, which passed through a railway crossing.
The safety record of Saudi Railway has been in question as a result of these accidents.
There have been frequent calls to enhance safety measures around the railway crossings in Dammam and other places where passenger and goods trains regularly pass. Almost all the crossings in the city of Dammam are manned by railway personnel, but speeding drivers can still cause such accidents.
There have also been demands to construct speed-breakers that will force motorists to slow down when they near the railway crossings. It is pointed out that where there are already speed-breakers, most have worn out and so have been rendered ineffective. Saudi Arabia is the only country in the Arabian peninsula with a railway.
