Head of Saudi Railways removed from post by KSA King
Abdul Aziz Al Huqail, the president of Saudi Railways Organisation, has been removed from his post by royal order following the derailment of a Riyadh bound train earlier this week, it was announced on Monday. King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, made the decision after 35 passengers were injured in the accident, which […]
Abdul Aziz Al Huqail, the president of Saudi Railways Organisation, has been removed from his post by royal order following the derailment of a Riyadh bound train earlier this week, it was announced on Monday.
King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, made the decision after 35 passengers were injured in the accident, which was caused by power cables on the railway tracks being stolen, according to local media reports.
According to reports, the SRO and the General Commission of Railway Safety formed an investigation team to uncover details about the accident. The commission is tasked with determining that safety procedures were enforced and complied with at all railway stations in the Kingdom.
It also investigates railway accidents, issues reports on the same and makes recommendations for safer operations.
Sources have said that there was no way for technicians, operators or the train conductor to avoid the accident as the signalling and communication systems were also affected by the theft of the power cables.
The train driver told the commission that he had received the all clear from the Damman control room to continue travelling to Riyadh non-stop. The train crew were told that the opposite train would be coming in from Riyadh on a different route, The Saudi Gazette said.
“The train driver was travelling at normal speeds before he was surprised to see that the railway detour was not right and this caused the train to flip over sideways,” the commission report said.
