For the passengers aboard the Rehman Baba Express, Tuesday, October 13, 2026, began as a standard transit across the landscape of Pakistan. The train, a vital artery connecting the southern port city of Karachi to the northern hub of Peshawar, was navigating the Punjab province when the journey took a catastrophic turn. Near the Sher Shah Bridge in Multan, the routine rhythm of the tracks was shattered. In a violent mechanical failure, all 14 carriages of the train derailed, plunging the passengers into a scene of sudden, chaotic devastation.
The immediate aftermath of the derailment was marked by the grim reality of the accident’s severity. Local authorities and emergency responders confirmed that at least five passengers lost their lives in the crash. Beyond the fatalities, the toll on the survivors was significant, with at least 30 individuals sustaining injuries. The sheer scale of the derailment—involving the entire 14-coach length of the train—meant that rescue teams faced a massive, complex operation as they arrived at the site near the bridge.
As news of the derailment broke, the area surrounding the Sher Shah Bridge became the focal point of a frantic rescue effort. Emergency workers moved quickly to clear the wreckage, focusing their efforts on evacuating passengers trapped within the mangled metal. The injured were rushed to Nishtar Hospital in Multan, where medical staff worked to provide urgent care to the victims of the crash.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formally acknowledged the disaster, expressing deep concern for those affected.
In the wake of the tragedy, the incident drew immediate attention from the highest levels of government. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formally acknowledged the disaster, expressing deep concern for those affected. He directed authorities to prioritize the welfare of the survivors, ensuring that the injured received proper medical treatment at the hospital. While the Prime Minister’s office focused on the immediate humanitarian response, police and railway officials launched an investigation into the cause of the derailment, seeking to understand how a standard transit could result in such a total failure of the train’s passage.
The derailment of the Rehman Baba Express is not an isolated event, but rather a stark reminder of the chronic challenges facing Pakistan’s railway sector. For years, the network has struggled under the weight of aging tracks, outdated signaling systems, and a persistent lack of investment. These systemic issues have long been identified as the primary drivers behind the country's frequent train accidents. The vulnerability of the system was underscored by the memory of the August 2023 derailment of the Hazara Express near Nawabshah, an accident that resulted in 30 deaths and highlighted the lethal risks inherent in the current infrastructure.
As the investigation into the Multan derailment continues, the immediate operational impact has been significant. Services on the affected line were suspended to allow for site clearing and structural assessments. To assist those left stranded by the suspension, an extra train was dispatched to transport passengers to their original destination of Peshawar. The incident serves as a somber reflection on the state of national transit, leaving the country to grapple once again with the human cost of a railway system that remains in desperate need of modernization.