DAMMAM, 18 December — All trains operating between Dammam and Riyadh were canceled yesterday as a passenger train with 258 people on board derailed near Khurais, 160 kilometers from Riyadh, Sunday evening seriously injuring the train driver and killing his assistant.
A railway official said accumulated sand on the tracks caused the derailment of Dammam-bound train. He ruled out sabotage as the cause of the accident.
Ticket counters at Dammam Railway Station were refunding fares to the passengers who had made reservations for yesterday. The assistant manager of Dammam Station hoped that the services might resume today. However, the ticket counters were not accepting bookings until Wednesday. “We are accepting reservations from Thursday onward,” said a bookings clerk.
Four trains depart from Dammam to Riyadh via Abqaiq and Hofuf every day.
According to officials of the Saudi Railways Organization, the crash occurred at 5.05 p.m. Sunday.
The engine and three carriages, including a luggage van, came off the tracks but the passengers were unharmed and later returned to Riyadh on a new train.
Assistant driver Ali Abdulrahman Al-Zahrani died in the accident. Saleh Mattar, the driver, was seriously injured and was rushed to hospital. According to assistant station manager here, the driver is now reported to be in stable condition.
The passengers of the ill-fated train had to face severe hardship, as they were stranded on board in the middle of the desert for more than five hours. A rescue team reached the scene at around 11 p.m. All the passengers were taken back to Riyadh by a new train and then from there to their respective destinations by road.
Concerned relatives of the passengers also waited at the railway station until late night. The train was scheduled to arrive at Dammam at 7.15 p.m.
Sand accumulation on the tracks is a normal phenomenon whenever strong winds hit the region. However, a special task force continuously keeps a vigil on the tracks and clears off the sand.
The railway freight service has also been affected by the accident resulting in huge losses to SRO as well as the businessmen.
A railway official involved in the rescue operation told Arab News that his team had been working to clear the tracks since Sunday night. He hoped that the rails would be cleared soon and trains would resume this morning
The official, however, added that strong wind was hampering the progress of work.
Khaled H. Al-Yahya, director general of Saudi Railways Organization, canceled his leave and arrived in Dammam yesterday to take stock of the situation and expedite the clearing operation.
The Dammam railway station was a scene of confusion, as the railway authorities had not placed any announcement about cancellation of trains following the accident. Hundreds of passengers queued up at the counters.
It was reported that hundreds of Eid holiday passengers were held up at Riyadh station as well. Many of them were people returning home after celebrating Eid with their relatives and friends.
The situation was the same in Dammam. Many Saudi and expatriate passengers said that they were returning to Riyadh after celebrating Eid with their relatives here in time to report for work after Eid holidays. Most private sector companies reopen today.
The effects of the train cancellations were seen at the Saudi Arabian Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) stations where hundreds of passengers rushed to catch the first possible bus bound for Riyadh. Here too they faced disappointment, as most of the buses were fully booked.
Taxis operating to Riyadh exploited the situation and many charged exorbitant rates. At the railway station, many taxis and limousines which had come to drop passengers began offering lifts to Riyadh at premium rates.
A Filipino worker was killed when a van he was traveling in smashed into a freight train near Dammam early this month. That accident also left three other Filipinos and one Indian injured.
Train accidents are rare in the Kingdom where the only railway line in operation is the 570-km Riyadh-Dammam link. Riyadh is considering a project to expand its railway system at an expected cost of $2.67 billion.
Under the project, the government plans to build around 2,000 kilometers of railways to link the east and west coasts and the minerals-rich north with Riyadh.
