By Mithun Jayawardhana in Ceylon Today,Nov 18, 2023 at 2:06am
A staggering number of 45,000 train journeys were cancelled in the past 10 months and an average of 150 daily scheduled train journeys continue to face cancellations, presenting a stark contradiction to the Department of Railways’ vision of becoming “the most efficient transport provider in Southern Asia”.
This was revealed by a senior official from the Department of Railways, during an interview with Ceylon Today.
The official highlighted that as a result of several issues within the department, a minimum of 214 train journeys across the country are experiencing delays daily, with a total of 64,200 delays recorded in the past 10 months.
According to the normal train service schedule, the department is expected to operate 390 train journeys per day, serving approximately 500,000 commuters.
He pointed out that the cancellation of around 800 train journeys in the past few months was due to the non-reporting for duty by locomotive drivers, station masters and other Railway Department personnel.
The official highlighted that the workforce tends to take sick leave consistently during the last week of each month, and initiating disciplinary actions has proven challenging due to their tendency to engage in trade union action when such measures are implemented.
The official emphasised that the prevailing situation within the department is a result of inadequate management and control by the top leadership.
General Manager of Railways H.M.K.W. Bandara, acknowledged the challenges, but stated that despite the current situation, the department is still operating 363 train journeys daily. He affirmed that efforts have been made to minimise train delays to a significant extent.
Deputy General Manager of Railways, N.J. Indipola mentioned that the official data on train cancellations and delays is currently available only from January to July. According to this data, out of the 66,613 scheduled journeys, 11,524 had to be cancelled. Remarkably, around 80 per cent of these journeys experienced delays of less than half-an hour, while approximately 20 per cent faced delays exceeding half-an hour, he added.
https://ceylontoday.lk/2023/11/18/45000-train-journeys-cancelled-in-10-months/
