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Plans are afoot for the construction of a US$ 920 million Light Rail Transit system for Colombo to reduce traffic congestion and give commuters faster access to the City centre.

Under the project coordinated by the Ministry of Western Region Development, an elevated Light Rail will be built on the 34 km stretch from Moratuwa to Kiribathgoda and the 12 km stretch from Pelawatta to Colombo Fort along the existing highway corridors. The elevated railway system, as seen in Bangkok (Bangkok Rapid Transit) and London (Docklands Light Railway) will reduce the inconvenience to the public as there will be less acquisition of properties, Ministry sources said.

This type of light rail transport system is also very popular in New Delhi and Calcutta in India. On the invitation of the Government of Sri Lanka, India has come forward to prepare a more detailed proposal on a light rail system for Colombo. A special delegation led by Mr. E. Sreedharan, Managing Director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation visited Sri Lanka along with Indian Railway experts to help Sri Lankan experts to prepare a more detailed project proposal.

During their short visit to Sri Lanka, after visiting all major city roads and suburban railway network around Colombo, the team of experts made a presentation to the Sri Lankan counterparts last week. This meeting was chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of Western Region Development and government officials from the Sri Lanka Railway, UDA and RDA, BOI and the Ministry of Finance were present.

Once the project proposal is completed this will be implemented as a joint venture project with financial assistance from donor agencies.

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