QUETTA: The Jaffer Express has resumed its Quetta–Peshawar service after completion of repair work on a section of track and a bridge destroyed in last week’s bomb blast near Spezand.
Railway officials confirmed that the passenger train, suspended since September 23, was restored following extensive repair and clearance operations. The explosion had ripped through the line between Degari Cross Spezand and Sariab stations, derailing the engine and five coaches. Several passengers, including women and children, were injured in the attack.
Investigators said the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device planted alongside the track, which detonated as the Peshawar-bound train passed. Relief teams deployed heavy machinery to realign the overturned bogies, repair the bridge, and restore the damaged track. Services of both the Jaffer Express and Bolan Express were cancelled during the suspension, with refunds issued to affected passengers.
The incident underscored renewed threats to passenger safety on the Quetta route, which has been repeatedly targeted in recent months. In March this year, the Jaffer Express was hijacked in Balochistan’s Bolan Pass, when terrorists killed 21 passengers and detonated explosives along the tracks before security forces could intervene.
Authorities said the masterminds of the March attack had links across the border. Earlier this month, Gul Rahman alias Ustad Mureed — identified as the planner of the hijacking — was reportedly killed in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. Rahman, a senior commander of the Majeed Brigade of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), was accused of orchestrating assaults on civilians, security forces, Chinese nationals, and state institutions.
With train operations restored, officials said security measures have been reinforced along vulnerable stretches of the track, but investigations into the September 23 blast remain underway.
