The Saudi Railway Organization blamed a railway contractor for the death of a maintenance worker when a passenger train collided with maintenance equipment near Abqaiq Sunday night.
“The driver of the train was facing, all of a sudden, people working on the track, which should have been cordinated from both sides as a train is scheduled to come,” the SRO statement issued on Monday said.
The SRO said the train could not avoid the accident, which killed the equipment driver and injured his assistant, the train’s driver, assistant driver and a translator. The front of the train engine was damaged.
The SRO took all emergency measures. The train continued its journey and arrived in Dammam station at 11 pm. The injured were treated. No passengers were treated
The deceased driver and his assistant were employed by a contracting company for railway track maintenance, Saad Al-Mubti and Partners Contracting Co.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the maintenance workers violated safety regulations by not stopping work and keeping off the line not less than five meters 15 minutes before the train arrived. The workers should also be warned in advance of the arrival of a train, the railway safety instructions said.
Workers should also be in contact with the automated control center when operating any machines on the lines or close to it.
All violating contractors who do not comply with safety regulation will be penalized, the safety instructions said.
“The officials of the SRO should have monitored the commitment of the contractor to implement all safety instructions,” said SRO president Muhammad Al-Suwaikat.
Contractor blamed for Abqaiq train accident
