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by Anura Maitipe

The government spent over Rs. 31.3 billion during the last five years on upgrading Railway Services, General Manager Railway Priyal de Silva told the Daily News yesterday.

Sri Lankan Railway faced severe difficulties in the late 1990s due to non-availability of sufficient locomotives to provide better services to its 90 million commuters.

The PA government took initiatives to purchase 33 new locomotives at a cost of Rs. 7,175 million under Indian, French and Chinese funding programs.

In addition, the main Railway workshop at Ratmalana was rehabilitated at a cost of Rs. 5,000 million with Japanese Credit Facilities. JCF funds totalling Rs. 2,000 million were utilised for the re-conditioning of 10 locomotives and railway compartments.

Another 5 locomotives have also been repaired with funds provided by the Consolidated Fund.

The Government launched a massive railway line network development project at a cost of Rs. 3,500 with Japanese aid to overcome delay's in the train services. The construction dual carriage ways up to Wadduwa on the costal line and up to Rambukkana on the up-country line has improved services substantially and un-due delays have been reduced.

The dual carriageway will be extended up to Galle on the Coastal line,to Kurunegala in the North East line, to Negombo in the Western line to Kandy on the main line. Work will be completed by year 2007.

The out-dated traffic signal network laid down in the colonial times was the other reason for delay in the railway transport. In 1997 a special project was launched by the government at a cost of 1200 million under the Netherlands Funding project in order to overcome this problem by modernising the signal system.

Under this project the government has taken steps to introduce a modern colour-light signal system. The modern signal system to Hikkaduwa has already been extended up to the coastal line to Negombo in the Westernline up to Rambukkana.

The government has also taken initiatives to rehabilitate the Kelani Valley Railway line and to construct a new railway line from Matara to Kataragama. The construction of Matara-Kataragama line is also in progress.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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