Sri Lanka Railways Forum

Transport Ministry will import 15 more powersets from China to improve Sri Lanka Railways transport services. The three of these power sets would arrive in June and the rest before the end of the year, Transport Ministry said in a press release.

The 300 million dollar worth power sets will be purchased on a loan provided by the Government of China. The power sets would be similar to the S9 now in use in the country and each compartment would have seating capacity for 250 passengers.

After a period of 15 years the Ministry of Transport imported 100 railway compartments recently. According to Transport Minister Dallas Alhapperuma, the railways contribute only 6 per cent of the country’s passenger transport and this would be increased to 20 per cent by the end of the year.

Source: The Island

Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma has underlined the importance of the country’s train service in the passenger transport sector. Minister Alahapperuma said he was planning to re-energise the country’s train service and make it more popular with the commuters.

The Minister no doubt will have his work cut out given the state of affairs in the Railways which he inherited. Today the Railway Department cannot cope with the demand of the heavy volume of train commuters and it is a common sight to see trains – especially the office trains spilling over with passengers endangering life and limb.

Add to this is irregular timetables which often result in commuters turning violent and frequent derailments. The trade unions too add to the chaos turning the Railway into a sick giant.

Minister Alahapperuma who is known as a go getter should get down to brass tacks and find a way of hoisting the Railway from its present state of deterioration. A huge shake up is called for encompassing all its spheres if the service is to be restored to its once elevated standard.

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We wish all our readers a happy Independence Day 2008

Of the 100 railway carriages brought from China, 75 have been successfully put into operation with the existing carriages and have so far been running smoothly according to the Sri Lanka Railway (SLR).

According to SLR, the rest of the carriages are to be introduced by the end of the month. SLR also says that the carriages from China are in far better condition than the existing carriages and that they passed the initial test from Colombo to Matara.

The experimental running was carried out in order to determine whether the carriages are fit to run on the country’s existing railway lines. Minor glitches such as gaps between carriages and platforms are being rectified.

Each of the 96-seat carriages was priced at Rs. 30 million, and though in the second and third class configuration, they are far better than the second and third class configuration carriages that are in use at the moment. Many issues have hit the railway in the recent past including a severe shortage of train carriages.

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Security at railway stations will remain tight with intensified checks being carried out to provide maximum security to commuters according to the Sri Lanka Railway (SLR).

Speaking to The Morning Leader General Manager, SLR, T. L Gunaruwan said “Security has been provided right throughout at the stations, but now we are forced to intensify it in light of the recent violence.”

After the January 11 explosion at the Fort Railway Station, which injured one person, security was beefed up at all railway stations amid fears of more attacks. The Fort Railway Station blast was another in the series of attacks this year targeting civilians.

Gunaruwan however said that there is no way of guaranteeing security at the stations in light of the situation today, but that the officials were doing their best to ensure maximum security. Gunaruwan stated that security at railway stations would be kept tight as long as the situation demanded it.

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Discussions are underway between the Sri Lanka Railway and the Transport Ministry to increase railway fares following the recent fuel price increase.

The last time that the railway increased its fares was in August 1, 2005 stated an official at the department.

“There is a long procedure when railway fares are to be changed, especially because this is a public service,” explained the official.

When railway fares are being analysed several factors have to be considered such as the different grades of service — the third class tickets, the second class tickets and the first class tickets and the distance between destinations.

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On the day of this tragedy, my eldest daughter rushed for the earlier train, and made her way home safely.

When she got off the train and was walking up the Angulana station Rd. We herd the sound of the blast, but we didn’t know what it was.

Then people were getting restless and we were told what had happened. My eldest daughter because she had taken an earlier train, but we couldn’t save her from a terminal illness, which took her away from us.

On an earlier occasion my daughter fell between the platform and a train. People shouted and pulled her off the track and my daughter’s life was saved them.

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