Sri Lanka Railways Forum

The undisclosed plan to extend the 22km railway line given to Holcim Cement in 1997 by a further 5km stretch has irked railway employees, the All Ceylon Railway Employees General Union (ACREU) said.

According to ACREU sources, Transport Minister Dulles Alahapperuma’s secret plan to extend the 22km Noornagar-Aruwakkal railway line by a further 5km stretch from Puttalam has irked the train passengers who travel to Noornagar, as it would deprive them of traveling beyond Puttalam by train once the railway track is given to Holcim.

“Prior to 1997 it was the Sri Lanka Railway (SLR) that transported the raw materials to the Holcim Cement Corporation and earned Rs.6.4 million monthly from Holcim. But the Chandrika Kumaratunga administration in 1997 leased out the 22km Noornagar-Aruwakkal railway line to Holcim for a mere Rs. 5 million per year,” General Secretary, ACREU, Sumathipala Manawadu told The Morning Leader.

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Train fares will be reduced from December 1st, in keeping with the government’s policy of passing the benefit of fuel price reductions to the commuters, Transport Minister Dulles Alahapperuma said yesterday.

“The reductions will not apply to fares below Rs. 15.00. Long distance train commuters will benefit from the fare reductions,” Mr. Alahapperuma told Daily Mirror.

For instance, the third class fare from Colombo Fort to Gampaha will be reduced from Rs. 30 to Rs. 25, the fare from Colombo to Kalutara will come down from Rs. 45 to Rs. 40, Colombo to Bandarawela from Rs. 210 to Rs.185, Colombo to Batticaloa from 270 to Rs. 230, and Colombo to Anuradhapura from Rs. 175 to Rs. 160.

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Nov 17, Colombo: Following the reduction in diesel prices, Sri Lankan Railway Department has also decided to reduce the train fares with effect from December 1st.

According to the General Manager of the Railways, Dr. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan the train fairs will be reduced by 6 to 17 percent. The minimum train fare will however remains the same without any reduction.

Meanwhile Sri Lankan Railway Department has decided to resume the Intercity Train Service between Colombo Fort and Nanu Oya effective December 1st.

Source : Colombo page

Assets sold to foreign companies, large scale corruption, and loss of over Rs 300 Mn

The auditor general has unearthed a colossal fraud amounting to over Rs 300 Mn in the tender transactions for spare parts for power sets during the past few years. Twenty five Axle carriages and 25 Phil grease parts have been procured in this dubious manner. The supplier is an Indian company. The auditor general’s report concludes that there was absolutely no need to procure these carriages and parts, because there was ample stocks in the stores already.

The department has suffered a further loss of 13,138,625 rupees in the purchase of 15 power sets. A loss of 71,160,000 has been incurred in the purchase of diesel electrical engines and 64 alkaline battery sets. Malpractice has been detected in the purchase of 175 four wheel trolleys, 1441 hand signal lamps, and 1250 signal posts.

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