QUETTA: Quetta Railway Station turned chaotic as over 1,000 passengers were stranded due to a protest by railway employees.
According to reports, demonstrators blocked tracks, delaying key trains, including the Chaman Passenger, Jafar Express, and Bolan Mail, for up to four hours.
The protest was sparked by the alleged demolition of employee housing boundaries on Zarghoon Road during a road expansion project.
Passengers, already frustrated by limited transport options, expressed their struggles, with one traveller lamenting, “Even trains aren’t reliable now.”
Railway unions accused project officials of unlawful actions and called for judicial intervention. After negotiations, the protest was paused for two days, allowing train services to resume.
On November 15, train services in Quetta were resumed after a four-day suspension caused by a deadly blast at the railway station.
Pakistan Railways (PR) had announced on November 10 that the Quetta railway station would remain closed from November 11 to November 14 for security reasons.
According to the then CEO of Pakistan Railways, Aamir Baloch, train operations from Quetta to other parts of Pakistan were restored after comprehensive security clearance. The tragic blast, which occurred on November 9, had claimed the lives of at least 26 people and injured over 40 others, including women and children. –Agencies
