Terrorism - Attempted Ramming of Passenger Train with Locomotive

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

Man held over ‘bid to ram train’

(The following article was posted on the Gulf Times website on August 25.)

KARACHI, Pakistan – A man stole a railway engine in Karachi and tried to drive it into a passenger train in an attempted terror attack, police said yesterday.

The man drove the locomotive at full speed for 35km before officials managed to derail it and avert a possible disaster late on Tuesday, railway police official Irshad Beg said.

Police identified the man as Madan Lal, who is in his 50s.

Senior Railways police officer Malik Mohamed Afzal said Lal appeared to be mentally unstable.

Authorities initially thought he was an Indian but later Lal said he was a Pakistani Hindu from the southern province of Sindh.

“He had given his address in Hyderabad but we have still found no documents on him confirming if he is a Pakistani or an Indian,” Afzal said.

“We suspect that he stole the engine and drove it on the track to cause a terrorist attack,” Beg said.

Lal’s apparent target was a regular passenger service that was on the same track before it was diverted, he added. Two Pakistani men, a driver and a fireman, were also arrested for negligence.

Lal said in custody that he was a Pakistani and stole the engine just to have a ride on the track. He refused to answer most questions.

Beg said the suspect would be produced before a local court and a thorough medical examination may be conducted to determine his mental health.

Railway authorities were yesterday trying to shift the damaged engine from where it came to rest, close to a down-at-heel area used by homeless people for sleeping.

“We are trying to get out charpoys (light wood and cane beds) and other things which were crushed by the engine,” said Mohamed Ameen, a veteran engineer driver supervising the track clearance.

"The engine could have crushed many people under its wheels if they

2

I bet the derail caught him off guard. He probably wondered how to steer around it!

3

I know this was overseas, but it seems to always end up reflecting back on us.

4

Something tells me we know how the reverser was left in the control stand…

5

Or the guy came here first and attended choo choo U.

6

Why ?

This story reads like a someone with a mental health problem who just fancied a joyride, and the crew who were presumably in charge of the loco hadn’t secured it properly.

People with mental health problems don’t necessarily think rationally, so the potential consequences of his actions probably didn’t occur to him.

It’s obviously a serious incident, but terrorism ? - I could be wrong, but it doesn’t seem like it to me.

Tony

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Because Terrorism speaks to our inner fear, and fear[or any bad news] sells newspapers. If he had been English or Indian or another ethnicity, I would have been plastered as terrorism. BUT as a Pakastani, He gets the “nut-job” label as being several french fries shy of a Happy Meal.

8

…

And he didn’t want to know how the brakes worked (other than to release them)???

9

Now that’s a real “Foamer” [swg]

10

He probably had train simulation gaming software on his computer with one of those operating boards that sorta kinda maybe looks like actual locomotive controls.

Which now means the CNN terror police will try to outlaw such computer simulations. [swg]

11

Hard to tell for sure, of course I’m just speculating.

But, none of us would have expected terrorists to go to school to learn to fly 757’s as part of a terminal pursuit, either.

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Yes, I know that bad news sells newspapers (that’s why rail accidents make headlines - they also have rarity value too), but the question was - how would this reflect back on the US ? - I can’t see the connection. If it was terrorism then there’s plenty of history of it in that part of the world, unconnected with the west.

Tony

13

If he was a qualified engine driver they would have commented on it. If not then it apparently takes a very short time to learn driving a locomotive.

greetings,

Marc Immeker

14

Mentally unstable… yet he had good command of the train… hmmmm

CC

15

Man can command a machine. Just open the throttle and let it rip. har har har.

Humor aside, I wonder if this is going to lead to a burst of banning on the simulation software as happened after 9-11? I remember that FS 2001 featuring the towers were yanked off the shelves nationwide the following week.

I would think that there were some very smart people on the job that saved quite a few lives that day.

16

Terrorism?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/5151370.stm

17

You are all wrong!

It was the last engine of that series over there, and he was a railfan trying to get a good photo runby of it for his friend.

The man who “borrowed it” also though that if it was to derail, he could sell the footage to Pentrex, and could make money on it.[(-D]

Phil

18

I answered as I did because of how many times we in the Northeast have had to deal with being scrutinized for any little incident that happens anywhere. Thankfully it seems to have let up, but we would like to enjoy our hobby in peace and not have to worry about if we are doing something we might get in trouble for. Our local commuter agency is still a bit picky about things.

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Let up, nope, it just moved west to Chicago. UP has a new photo ban on passenger platforms on its ex-CNW commuter routes.

20

OK, thanks - I understand the comment now (and sympathise). I’ve recently been musing on where to go on my next railfan visit to the US - I’d prefer to travel around by train/transit if possible (and I’ve never really explored the Northeast properly - just passed through) but I’m wondering if the ‘hassle factor’ of videoing trains from station platforms is going to be too high.

Tony