The accident occurred after a Lahore-bound Mianwali express train hit a freight train already parked on the main railway line, say police.
According to sources, the Lahore-bound passenger train — coming from Mianwali — was travelling on the same track where a freight train was already present, resulting in a crash.
The train driver attempted to avoid the crash but to no avail.
According to the rescue personnel, 20 passengers onboard the train were injured in the accident. Five injured passengers have been transferred to the district headquarters hospital, they added.
The railway officials said that rescue work is underway at the site of the accident, and an investigation into the crash was launched.
Meanwhile, a railways spokesperson said in a statement that train operations are running smoothly in the Lahore division following the crash.
The track was cleared at 7:30am after the accident, the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson further said that Mianwali Express was also dispatched and all passengers onboard the train were safe.
It is pertinent to mention that four bogies of a freight train derailed near the same railway station a day earlier.
Accidents on Pakistan's decaying rail system are common and successive governments have for years been trying to secure funds to upgrade the rail network under China's Belt and Road Initiative.
In the past decade, the country has witnessed a number of deadly train accidents, and they seem to have increased in frequency over the past few years.
In August this year, at least 56 were killed and a dozen others injured after as many as 10 bogies of Havelian-bound Hazara Express derailed near Sahara Railway Station in Sindh's Nawabshah district, 275 kilometres away from Karachi, officials said.
Soon after the incident, the rescue teams reached the spot and shifted the injured to a nearby hospital where five victims are said to be in critical condition.
On August 6, at least 25 people were killed and over 100 sustained injuries when 10 bogies of Hazara Express traveling from Karachi to Rawalpindi derailed near Nawab Shah.
Railway officials reported that the tragic incident occurred near Saharai Railway Station, located between Shahzadpur and Nawabshah when the Hazara Express was en route from Karachi.
The derailment resulted in 10 bogies veering off the tracks, leading to chaos and injuries among the passengers on board.
