Thirty-eight billion to improve transport sector
The Government for the first time in history has decided to allocate funds amounting to Rs. 38 billion to improve the national transport sector to provide a better service for commuters in 2008, Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said.
Speaking at a ceremony organised to mark the 50th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Transport Board, the Minister said that a new era has begun in the State transport sector with the dawn of the new year.
The Minister said that the railway and bus services will be made profit making sectors by eradicating misadministration and large scale financial malpractices.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has emphasised the importance of upgrading the State transport sector and has allocated large amounts of money for the first time to revive the Railway and CTB.
We are gradually taking the CTB and Railways Department out of its present unsatisfactory situation.
Steps have already been taken to re-establish the CTB by improving its facilities.
The Minister said that this year it has planned to increase the contribution of the State bus and the Railway sectors up to 60 percent which was 20 percent earlier. He said the State passenger service is in its golden era and 10 depots which incurred a loss have for the first time recorded a net profit of Rs. 14 million.
He said that there was no common governing body to co-ordinate and decide on the service earlier but we are gradually changing this system by making suitable policy decisions to provide a better service, he said.
A number of new engines, carriages and power sets will be arrived the country this year to reduce over-crowding and to provide a comfortable commuter service. The railway lines which has not modified for last 15 years will be upgraded. The prevailing signal system will be modernised in this year.
“It is the responsibility of all of us to make the transport service more respectable,” he added.
Source: Daily News
Tags: bus services, carriages, commuter service, commuters, national transport, new engines, railway lines, signal system, transport minister, transport sector
