Proposals for railway link between Lanka and India
A proposal to build a railway line between Sri Lanka and India has been included in the agenda of the next SAARC Transport Ministers meeting to be held in Sri Lanka, a senior Minister said yesterday.
Transport Minister Dulles Alahapperuma told parliament at the committee stage debate of the Transport Ministry that his Ministry was working according to a plan.
“We are dreaming of an era when passengers can board a train at the Colombo Fort Railway Station bound for a destination in Europe. We should hold such dreams because those who don’t dream have no goal to realize. But my dreams may not be realized during my tenure in office,” the Minister said.
The Minister said the country’s railway network comprised 1,200 kilometres and that plans were afoot to extend the Kelani Valley railway line up to Kataragama via Embilipitiya.
“We have started construction work on the Matara-Kataragama line in three phases. We have also completed the surveying of 38 kilometres of the proposed Kurunegala-Dambulla railway line,” he said.
Mr. Alahapperuma said the transport sector faced many problems with most of the railway locomotives being outdated.
By KB/GC
Source: Daily Mirror
Tags: colombo, india, kataragama, kurunegala, locomotives, passengers, proposals, railway network, spare parts, sri lanka railways, transport sector
December 6th, 2008 at 7:50 am
A proposal that would go a long way in helping the poor. But it has to be mentioned that there was such a train service some-time ago and if the Hon. Minister’s proposal is implemented it would be restarting the old train service, long overdue.