Facelift for coastal railway stations
The Ministry of Transport has planned to modernise all railway stations along the coastal belt in collaboration with the private sector which will be authorised to construct multi-storey buildings at the stations and renovate them.
The first phase of the project will include 12 railway stations where the private sector companies will be called upon to construct multi-storeyed buildings at the station where the first three storeys will be owned by the Railway Department.
Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said Cabinet approval has been obtained to implement the mega project with the participation of the private sector.
Railway stations had been poorly maintained and the standards were not satisfactory to provide an efficient transportation service to the public. The facilities and the quality of service in railway stations needs to be upgraded urgently to ensure a better transportation service, the Minister said.
He said the Railway Department has prime lands that have the highest value but the Department has not been able to make use of them in a profitable manner. The income from the Railway Department lands is less than 0.8 percent.
The Railway Department incurs an annual loss of Rs. 7.5 billion. The Department’s annual income is around Rs 2.5 billion.
The number of employees in the CTB is over 42,000 whereas the Board has only around 4,200 buses where it has to maintain 10 employees from a single bus. On the contrary the private sector has over 19,000 buses and 41,000 employees, he said.
“With the implementation of the project there will not be a need to burden the commuters with railway fare hikes for the next 10 years. All railway stations will have modern facilities and the public could have a hassle free transportation system,” he said.
The Minister said a Singaporean company has already agreed on the concept and is willing to support the project.
The Ministry has plans to buy 15 power sets and 100 carriages on a soft loan from China which will reach Sri Lanka next month.
The Minister said that the Kelani Valley railway track will be renovated to operate a double rail track service. The modernisation of the Kelani Valley railway stations will include a new ticketing and signal system. The Department will do away with the present speed limits.
He also said that his ministry will not bow down to political pressure or exert influence to employ members to the Department and that he will resolve the longstanding issues regarding appointments, promotions and salary anomalies.
The Ministry has called on all its officials to practise austerity in their overseas tours in opting to travel economy class and that all functions be held in state venues and not star class hotels.
by Lalin Fernandopulle
Source: Sunday Observer
Tags: bus services, carriages, coastal belt, coastal line, commuters, free transportation, mega project, modernisation, multi storey buildings, private sector, profitable manner, railway department, railway stations, soft loan, transportation system
