# Pakistan Railways emergency till 31 December: leave cancelled, officers must travel by train

Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/pakistan/pakistan-railways-emergency-till-31-december-leave-cancelled-officers-must)
Type: News article
Author: Searchable Editorial
Published: 25 Oct 2026
Updated: 25 Oct 2026
Retrieved: 25 Oct 2026

> After the Rehman Baba Express derailment near Multan and seven accidents in July, Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi has put the whole operations staff on an emergency footing. Here is what changes for trains and passengers.

Pakistan Railways has declared an emergency that runs until **31 December 2026**, cancelling leave for officers and officials and ordering every officer on official tour to travel by train, Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi announced on Saturday, 24 October. [Dawn reported](https://www.dawn.com/news/2039611/pakistan-railways-hits-panic-button-after-repeated-accidents) the order after a run of derailments, including the Rehman Baba Express near Multan on 13 October.

## What the emergency orders

- **Leave cancelled** for officers and officials, except medical leave, public holidays and weekends. The minister said no one in operations, himself included, will take Saturdays or Sundays off.
- **Officers in the field** to monitor train operations.
- **Train only on tours.** Air travel on official tours is not allowed or reimbursed, and official vehicles are barred for tours. Abbasi says he will travel between Rawalpindi and Lahore by train until 31 December, flying only in an "extreme emergency".
- **Daily reports** from the chief engineers of the civil and mechanical departments and from the head of safety.

## The repair targets

| Task | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Health check of 1,546 coaches and wagons | Done |
| Inspection of the remaining about 3,000 | 10 November |
| Concrete and wooden sleepers supplied | 30 November |
| All dummy (faulty or brakeless) coaches and wagons out of service | 31 December |
| Faulty coaches, wagons and locomotives fit to run | From January 2027 |

Spare parts, including **36,000 brake cylinders**, have started arriving, and railway workshops have been told to make parts that can be produced locally. Abbasi said he was clearing a maintenance backlog built up over ten years.

## Why now

Dawn counted seven accidents or derailments in July alone and cites worn track, dummy coaches, the manual points system (kanta), human error and too little maintenance as the causes. Our earlier count found [more than 55 railway accidents in 2026](/news/pakistan/pakistan-railways-has-had-more-than-55-accidents-in-2026-most-in-the-sukkur), most of them in the Sukkur, Karachi and Multan divisions.

## What it means for passengers

Timetables are unchanged by the order. Removing dummy coaches by the end of December could mean fewer coaches on some trains for a while, so book early for the winter holidays. Tickets, refunds and the 90-day booking window are explained in our [Pakistan Railways online booking guide](/guides/travel/pakistan-railways-online-ticket-booking). If you are deciding between train and road for a trip, our [fuel cost calculator](/tools/cars/fuel-cost-calculator) shows what the drive would cost at today's [petrol price](/data/petrol-price).

## Frequently asked questions

**How long does the Pakistan Railways emergency last?**

Until 31 December 2026, according to Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi's announcement on 24 October 2026.

## Sources

- Pakistan Railways hits panic button after repeated accidents (Dawn): https://www.dawn.com/news/2039611/pakistan-railways-hits-panic-button-after-repeated-accidents

How to cite: "Pakistan Railways emergency till 31 December: leave cancelled, officers must travel by train", Searchable, 25 Oct 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/pakistan/pakistan-railways-emergency-till-31-december-leave-cancelled-officers-must