“There was a time the Railways had been totally neglected and destined to a natural death. The 20% share of passenger transport by train in the National Transport had been reduced to 6% during this time. The plan was for the Railways to be fragmented and sold. But after the Mahinda Rajapaksa government was elected, [...]
The Sri Lankan Railway is beset with two perennial problems: Trains do not operate on scheduled times and the mounting losses occurring in the large-scale purchases of spares and other irregularities continue unabated. The controversial purchase of the French Alstom engines is a case in point. Eight years ago ten such French engines, each costing [...]
Railway unionists yesterday called the National Salaries and Cadre Commission ‘a white elephant’ living on public money, without providing any solutions to salary anomalies problems in the Railway Department. “Two years have lapsed since its appointment. During these two years, the Commission had come up with nothing but hair splitting arguments. It failed to bring [...]
The Kelani Valley rail line, which approximately 30,000 train commuters use daily, will be enhanced and developed into a double-track, said Ceylon Govt.Railway sources. Preliminary groundwork such as clearing shanties and shrubs and other encroachments of govt. land, preparing and levelling adjacent land, noticing individuals to remove unauthorised structures and conducting relevant feasibility studies will [...]
The ten railway engines imported from France during the administration of President Chandrika Kumaratunge appears to have ended up as a white elephant. According to reliable sources, nine out of the ten engines are said to be beyond repair due to crankshaft defects and are lying at a railway grave- yard at Ratmalana, covered with [...]
“Look at these new coaches. They are made of stainless steel. A proud announcement was made that it was to avoid corrosion on the coastline. If that is the case, all the railway bridges along that line must be made of stainless steel. Have you ever seen stainless steel ships? Why couldn’t they use aluminium [...]