Two freight trains collided Wednesday morning at the approach to Haradh Station when one of the trains was guided on to the wrong tracks, leading to the driver of one locomotive and another train official being taken to hospital with minor injuries, and a fire in a front carriage. The incident occurred when one of the trains, both of which were transporting over 70 freight trucks, was asked to stop at a loading depot to allow the other to enter the station, but a signal error led to the approaching train being guided on to the same tracks. Fire and rescue services arrived at the scene to prevent the blaze spreading, and as of Wednesday evening the freight line remained closed. Passenger train schedules were not affected. Eyewitnesses described the collision as “violent.” “The incident occurred at 5:25 A.M. between freight trains 119, traveling from Dammam to Riyadh, and 120, which was heading east, at the entrance to Haradh Train Station,” a railways official said. “The trains were formed of 74 and 70 carriages respectively.”
