QUETTA; At least four people were injured on Monday when a blast derailed six bogies of the Jaffar Express near Spezand town in Mastung district’s Dasht tehsil, officials confirmed.
The explosion, caused by explosives planted on the railway track, disrupted the passenger train that was en route from Peshawar to Quetta with 270 passengers on board.
Dr. Waseem Baig, spokesperson for the Balochistan Health Department and Quetta Civil Hospital, said three of the injured were shifted to the hospital’s trauma centre, while an injured child was taken to the Combined Military Hospital.
Pakistan Railways spokesperson Muhammad Kashif stated that a relief train, rescue trucks, and cranes were immediately dispatched to the site.
He added that repair work on the damaged track and bogies would begin at daylight, while a formal investigation has been launched. Security forces cordoned off the area and started a search operation.
This attack adds to a troubling pattern of assaults on Balochistan’s railway network. Last month, a similar explosion derailed six bogies of the Jaffar Express near the same location.
Just days earlier, a Quetta-bound train narrowly escaped disaster in Sibi when a bomb detonated moments after it had passed.
Other incidents this year include the July 24 explosion on the Quetta-Sibi rail section that damaged the Bolan Mail, and multiple derailments in Sukkur and Jacobabad, some linked to explosives.
The province has witnessed a sharp rise in militant activity targeting transport infrastructure, underscoring its fragile security situation.
Earlier this year in March, train services were suspended after militants hijacked the Jaffar Express near Sibi, killing 21 passengers and four security personnel before security forces neutralised 33 attackers
