New railway carriages to arrive next month

Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka - Geneva - Switzerland

02nd August 2007

Following the cabinet approval for the procurement of passenger carriages for Sri Lanka Railway, the Transport Ministry has taken steps to import 100 new railway carriages from China. Accordingly the first fleet of 25 carriages will reach Sri Lanka by 03 September, which is scheduled to ship from China on 20 August.

According to relevant Ministry officials, the remaining 75 carriages will arrive here with in the next three months in three separate fleets consisting 25 in each. These carriages are being constructed at a leading Chinese company as per Sri Lankan engineers’ instructions to ensure that they are suited to local conditions.

In February this year the Cabinet approved a Memorandum submitted by the Minister of Transport Dullas Alahapperuma for the procurement of 100 numbers of Passenger Carriages from M/s China National Machinery Import & Export Corporation at a total FOB price of US $ 22,105,200. These carriages will be inclusive of all the improvements specified.

This was one of the first steps taken by the Minister Alahapperuma immediately after assuming his duties. According to Ministry officials, in order to fulfill the increasing demand for Railway transportation in Sri Lankan at least 50 carriages should be added to the service annually.

“For the first time in history, we have also obtained a warranty from the manufacturers that they will compensate the Railways Department US $ 50 for each day, in case a carriage is taken out of operation within the warranty period,” Transport Ministry spokesman said.

More space for passenger transportation will be available with these improvements reducing the congestion on roads. Diverting commuters from road to rail transport would result in saving vehicle operating costs and lower levels of pollution. Alleviating the existing capacity constrain of trains would greatly affect the prolonged life of existing fleet by reducing the pressure on it.

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