Sri Lanka Railways Forum

The Ceylon Government Railway (CGR) has increased train fares with effect from today (01) to offset the exorbitant costs incurred as a result of the current fuel price hike.

According to the new fare revision the minimum fare for a 3rd Class tickets will be Rs.10/, while Second Class and First Class passengers will have to pay Rs.20 and Rs. 40, as the minimum fare.

Minister of Transport Dallas Alahapperuma said that the Railway Department uses nearly 30 million litres of diesel to run its trains and has to spend an additional Rs.900 million due to the current diesel price hike. The Treasury provides nearly Rs.7.5 billion to the Railway and the allocation has to be increased up to Rs.8.5 billion in view of the diesel price increase.

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A top official of a government body said freezing prices of government output was an ‘economic crime’ because the popular concept of ‘government bearing the burden’ had no factual basis.

“Suppressing prices and freezing them is an economic crime,” head of Sri Lanka Railways Lalithasiri Gunaruwan told reporters. “It is not raising prices that cause an economic crisis.”

Gunaruwan says the railways lost 7.5 billion rupees last year, which was topped up by the Treasury, saying the government was bearing the burden.

This year it is set to increase by a further 900 million with the latest increase in fuel prices. Only 5.0 percent of the traveling public used trains.

“We say, ‘The government is bearing the cost. We will not charge the passenger’,” he said.

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Sri Lanka railways will almost double rail fares to reduce losses and its dependence on government handouts as fuel prices continue to move up, officials said.

From Monday fares of privately owned buses were raised by 27.2 percent and state-run buses by 17.0 percent. Rail fares were last raised in 2005, but bus fares have been raised a number of times in between.

Sri Lanka Railways chief Lalithasiri Gunaruwan said the railways were now charging 50 cents per passenger kilometre compared to almost one rupee for buses.

This indicated a need to almost double fares. Transport minister Dallas Alahapperuma however has asked railways to keep fares just below that of buses.

Except for a few routes where the rail track was slightly longer than buses, Gunaruwan said the new rates would be lower than bus fares.

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Secretary, All Ceylon Railway Employees General Union (ACREGU) Sumathipala Manawadu told The Morning Leader that the Railway Ministry’s failure to provide protection to train commuters led to the latest  disaster on Monday that claimed nine lives.

“Subsequent to the February 3 suicide bomb attack at the Fort Railway Station that killed 14  and injured more than 100, railway commuters requested Railway Minister Dulles Alahapperuma  to provide adequate security to commuters and the stations especially Fort and Maradana,” Sumathipala added.

Sumathipala further stated that  the Organisation for Protection of the Properties and the Rights of Railway Employees (OPPRRE) had on January 16, requested Minister Alahapperuma and the Railway Department to introduce a proper security system for the railway to ensure the safety of railway property and passengers. But the authorities concerned have failed to strengthen security at major railway stations, he charged.

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Over ten people were injured when two trains collided at Botale in Mirigama a short while ago.

The department of railways said Train services along the main line were temporarily disrupted after the collision between the Medawachchiya bound express train and a railways service train.

Source: Sri Lanka Railways Forum

Surprise checks will be carried out in trains and SLTB and private buses, to ensure the safety of commuters, trains, buses and property, a spokesman of the Ministry of Transport said yesterday.

The Ministry’s security officers will assist the police and armed forces to conduct surprise checks and help to keep possible terrorist acts in check. One such instance was witnessed on trains plying the coast line to Puttalam line last afternoon. The SLTB as well as private buses and commuters will also be subjected to thorough checks at regular intervals. These security measures are being carried out on the instructions of Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma and will be in place islandwide, to thwart terrorist attempts to create mayhem among civilians, he added.

He added there was public support for the security measures taken by the Transport Ministry for the safety of passengers and property and the public often come forward to assist the Army and Police in carrying out these checks which is encouraging.

Source: Daily Mirror