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| Saturday, 17 July 2004 |
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| Minister seeks Cabinet approval : Joint venture to be formed with Railway, SriLankan and Port Authority by E. Weerapperuma Transport Minister Felix Perera has sought the Cabinet approval to reach an agreement in principle to form a Joint Venture among the Sri Lanka Railways, Airport and Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Airlines, for the purpose of establishing an Airport Link Railway Service. The Minister hopes to bring amendments to the Railway Ordinance as Sri Lanka Railway system presently operates under the Railway Ordinance. He also wants the Cabinet approval to commence the required studies and formation of documents for the purpose of setting up a Joint Venture and to commence negotiations through the relevant government departments to obtain the foreign and local funding required to operate a new railway service between the Bandaranaike International Airport and the domestic airport at Ratmalana via Colombo. According to the Ministry sources a joint venture of this nature needs Rs. 4,000 million approximately. This estimated money could be obtained under donor assistance. As the Government of the Republic of China has shown interest in this respect, they could be persuaded. The Sri Lankan Airlines could be requested to bear the cost of feasibility studies, marketing and operational infrastructure. The Airport and Aviation Authority could fund the terminal station development. As there is no acquisition of land is anticipated, the project could be completed within 18 months, sources said. With the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) experiencing increased passenger traffic, it has become necessary to find efficient means of moving passengers to and from the airport. "This is a vital transport link in attracting tourists and business travellers to Sri Lanka and that is why the proposal has been made to operate a new railway service between the BIA and the domestic airport at Ratmalana via Colombo", the Minister explained. Minister Perera pointed out that a railway service that caters to passengers to the BIA should be punctual and reliable. It also should be equipped with air-conditioned carriages and spacious luggage. The stations should be well designed, modernised, clean and well maintained to meet the demands of the day and the designing is especially important for carrying luggage. The ticket booking and reservation systems should also be modern with excellent connections between stations and hotels residential areas etc." This railway service connected to the Ratmalana Domestic Airport will give a tremendous boost to domestic air travel and it will help to ease the severe road congestion at Negombo road, Galle road and roads within the city limits of Colombo", he said. Minister Perera observed that it has been estimated that out of the three to four million annual airport passengers at present and which keeps on increasing between 8 per cent to 10 per cent per annum, over 20 per cent of that crowd, could possibly use this new facility if it is run well. This will also be of immense service to the employees at the Airport, to the visitors and to normal commuter traffic to Colombo from both Katunayake and Ratmalana during the day. It will help to reduce the traffic congestion as the peak period for the airport is between 12 midnight to 7.00 in the morning. Park and Ride facilities could be set up at selected railway stations so that the vehicles users could park their vehicles and take a train to the city or beyond. The express trains will have an estimated travel time between Katunayake and Ratmalana of one hour. Seven to eight train sets can provide a service of 30 minute frequency with stops at Ja-Ela, Ragama, Fort, Slave Island, Kollupitiya, Bambalapitiya and Mt. Lavinia. The new service could also cater to take around one ton of mail and perhaps several tons of courier parcels daily between Colombo and the airport, Ministry sources added. |
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