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Local expertise in rail track restoration commendable

BY RAMANI Kangaraarachchi

The southern railway track which was damaged from Kalutara to Matara at various areas beyond measure over a distance of 95 km was completed within 57 days in a very professional manner.

This gigantic and Herculean task was concluded in record time for the welfare of the travelling public of Sri Lanka, Past President, Institution of Engineers, B.R.O. Fernando said after the reopening of the railway track recently.

He said that considering the adverse comments made by various sources about the Sri Lanka Railways during the past few years, repair of the railway track would have been only a dream if the work was completed even within one year.

However the General Manager Railways Engineer Priyal de Silva planned the re-construction and was determined to do the entire job using local personnel only.

The funds from the Treasury which is usually a bottleneck under any government for work connected with engineering for various government departments to carry out maintenance work was not a problem in this instance after the tsunami.

Tender boards and other delaying tactics of various interested parties were not known. New bridges were installed and tracks near river embankments which were in a pathetic situation were re-done to very high standards of construction and safety, with the assistance of unstinted support of the Ceylon Electricity Board, Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau, State Development and Construction Corporation, Road Development Authority and the Sri Lanka Army.

Finally he said that the nation should salute local engineers who gave their best by leadership, commitment and direction.

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