SEREMBAN, MALAYSIA: Investigations into the derailment near Seremban which killed the train driver will be ready in a week and a report will be presented to the Transport Minister and the Railways Department.

Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd managing director Datuk Mohd Salleh Abdullah however declined to speculate on what caused the Singapore-bound Express Rakyat with 210 passengers to jump the rails on Saturday.

"Our men are still gathering details and interviewing the relevant people," he said.

The train derailed near Rahang New Village just south of Seremban at 3.35pm on Saturday, resulting in its locomotive landing sideways in a ditch and the first passenger coach behind it turning turtle.

The rest of the train became separated and two other coaches rolled down a steep embankment and were straddled precariously across the narrow Sungai Rahang.

Driver Yahaya Osman, 40, was killed during the incident while four other passengers were injured.

Mohd Salleh said when the locomotive landed on its side, it began sinking. Mud and water began flooding the cabin and Yahaya drowned.

"Yahaya's leg was pinned and could not escape despite his co-driver trying desperately to free him," he said.

Yahaya, who was buried in Malacca on Saturday night, leaves behind a wife and three children.

Mohd Salleh said the stretch of rail should become operational by this afternoon.

"We have removed the coaches which were blocking the line. However, we will have to leave the locomotive and the upside-down coach there and remove them later because they are not obstructing the line," he said.

He said the priority was to reopen the line soon because all southern and East Coast services as well as freight trains to and from Tanjung Pelepas Port had to pass through the affected stretch.

A check at the scene of the incident yesterday showed KTMB personnel busy clearing the tracks.

KTMB corporate communications officer Shahriza Embi said two cranes were brought in to winch the derailed wagons.

"They will be towed back to the Seremban station and we hope to get the tracks realigned shortly," she said.

State Housing, New Villages and Public Transport committee chairman Siow Shen Tin hoped KTMM would submit a report on the incident to the state authorities.

He said this after visiting two of the injured passengers - Chong Wah Sin, 42, and Chia Lian Heng, 73 - at the Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital.

Chong, who sustained injuries to his left foot and Chia, who suffered head injuries, are both expected to be discharged today.