Train fares up

Irangika Range

Train fares will be increased from June 1 to offset the current diesel price hike, Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said.

Addressing the media yesterday, Minister Alahapperuma said an evaluation of the fare increase will be done soon.

The Minister assured that the fare revision will be lower than the recent CTB bus fare increase of 17 percent considering the hardships faced by the commuters. The Government has provided a number of concessions to commuters even while the railway is run at a loss.

A Government servant is only charged a mere five cents per kilometre while it is only three cents per passenger kilometre in respect of over 17,000 CGR employees.

He said that the Railway Department uses nearly 30 million litres of diesel to run its trains and it has to spend an additional Rs.900 million due to the current diesel price hike. The Treasury provides nearly Rs.7.5 billion to the Railway and the allocation has to be increased upto Rs.8.5 billion with the diesel price increase.

It is essential that the public transport sector is strengthened and all possible action taken to reduce the burden of the commuters, the Minister added. "We have been able to import 15 power sets after many decades and they will arrive in Sri Lanka in August."

Railway General Manager Dr. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan said that the fare revision should have been done five years prior to this to revive the CGR. The Government has not increased fares for the last three years and fares were last amended in 2005.

"Only five per cent of the travelling public in the country are train commuters but the Government incurs a loss amounting Rs.1000 million per year on their behalf. The Railway earns only Rs.250 million annually and the balance Rs.750 million has to be provided by the Treasury."

"Today the CGR is run at a loss and it is unable to meet even its day to day expenditure. It is unfair if this situation is not redressed even now," the Minister observed.