செய்தி

Several trade unions including that of the the train drivers and guards suspended the token strike which was scheduled to commence at midnight on 22/02/2021 and held a discussion with the Minister of Transport Gamini  Lokuge at the Ministry of Transport on 23-02-2021 regarding their problems.

A new office train from Homagama to Colombo Fort on the Kelani Valley Railway line will be deployed in addition to the existing train.

A new office train from Homagama to Colombo Fort will be in operation from 2021-02-05. The train will leave Homagama at 07.00 am. and at 6.10 p.m. from Colombo Fort to Homagama.

This train of S8 type consisting of  05 compartments, starts from Homagama and will run as a slow train. These power set compartments taken off from operation, have thus been refurbished by a local company and added to operation. 

With the commencement of this new train service from Homagama Railway Station at 7.00 am, the time of the train that starts from Kosgama at 6.10 am and the time of the train that starts from Homagama at 7.15 a.m. will be revised as 6.20 a.m. and 7.42a.m. respectively.

A modern signaling system has been installed on this route from Nugegoda to Maharagama and as a result trains can run on this line every 04 minutes without any problems with signals.

The project has cost Rs. 15 million to install a modern signal system at the Maharagama railway station and Rs. 20 million to install a new signal system from Nugegoda to Maharagama.

Speaking at the inauguration of the train service, Transport Minister GaminiLokuge said that a drain of large amount of foreign exchange can be saved through renovation of a  carriages removed from operation, by a local company and addition of them to operation. The Minister said that at present about 200 train carriages have thus been repaired and put into operation,

In line with His Excellency the President's vistas of prosperity, these train carriages have locally been renovated and added to operation with a view saving foreign exchange.  The Minister further stated that it is intended to carry on modernization of the dilapidated carriages within the country, and another 100 carriages will be renovated in this manner. 

He also said that about 15,000 passengers travel using the Kelaniweli railway line a day and that steps will be taken to provide the necessary facilities to increase this number to 30,000 in the future. The Minister further said that this will enable train passengers to reach their offices daily in time, in a shorter time and at a lower cost. The Minister expressed these views at a meeting held at  Malapalla (Makumbura) after coming there by train from Homagama on 05.02.2020. Trade Minister Hon. BandulaGunawardena, former Western Provincial Council Minister Mr. UpaliKodikara, Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, Mr. Monty Ranatunga and General Manager of Railways, Mr. Dilantha Fernando were also present on the occasion.

Private bus owners who have been financially distressed by the COVID 19 pandemic have been unable to carry out maintenance and repairs due to not operating their buses for months.

Under the circumstances, in response to a request made by private bus owners and bus owners in general, the Ministry of Transport, in collaboration with the National Transport Commission and the Provincial Road Passenger Transport Authority, made arrangements on 15-02-2021  to provide a loan of Rs. 300,000 to private bus owners through state banks and another  Rs. 50,000 under the above program to purchase ticketing machines.

Symbolically handing over of the letters of granting of loans to 27 private bus owners to obtain the loan was held at the National Transport Commission Auditorium under the patronage of Hon. GaminiLokuge, Minister of Transport.

GaminiLokuge, Minister of Transport speaking on this occasion, said that the government is well aware of the difficulties faced by private bus owners and commended the Bank of Ceylon and the People's Bank for coming forwards to extend these loans to alleviate these problems.

The Minister further stated that the main objective of the government is to take all possible steps on the instructions of His Excellency the President to protect the private bus industry and to provide a comfortable transport service to the public.

Representatives of Bank of Ceylon and People's Bank also signed agreements with the National Transport Commission on the issue of these loans.

Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, Mr. Monty Ranatunga, Secretary to the State Ministry of Transport, Mr. S.M.D.L.K. De  Alwis, Chairman of the National Transport Commission, Mr. Shashi Welgama, President of the People’s Private Bus Professionals Association Mr. Sampath Ranasinghe and a group of private bus owners were also present at the occasion.

140 Romanian carriages and 60 S8 power sets are being rehabilitated under the project to rehabilitate and put into service 200 carriages that were removed from operation by the Sri Lanka Railway Department. The total estimated cost of this project is 2388 million rupees.

 The estimated cost for one compartment is 13.1 million rupees for a Romanian compartment and 9.1 million rupees for an S8 power set compartment.  So far, 138 Romanian carriages and 52 S8 carriages have been repaired and handed over to the Railway Department. The remaining compartments are to be repaired and handed over to the Railway Department before May 15 this year. The Government has been able to save a large amount of foreign exchange through this project and has also achieved a significant development in the field related to the renovation of these carriages.    At present it costs more than Rs. 91 million to import a new Indian carriage while it costs around Rs. 131 million to import a Chinese power set.

Therefore, the government has been able to save a large amount of foreign exchange under this project.  An important factor about this project is that it is a local company which carries out repairs using local technicians and engineers. Hon. Gamini Lokuge, Minister of Transport visited the yard belonging to the Dematagoda Railway Department to inspect the activities of this project. He instructed the Secretary to the Ministry of Transport and other officials to expedite the arrangements for renovation of 100 more carriages in the future as the Cabinet has given its approval for such renovations. Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, Mr. Monty Ranatunga, General Manager of Railways, Mr. Dilantha Fernando and Chairman of Tantari Ltd., Mr. Athula Haputhanthri were also present on the occasion.