More power sets to rolling stock

Irangika Range

The Government will deploy seven new power sets to the existing upcountry railway fleet.

A Sri Lanka Railways spokesman said the Chinese government will provide these power sets which will fulfill the requirements of Sri Lanka Railways.

He said these power sets had been designed to suit long distance journeys. “We have completed several successful trial journeys to monitor the conditions of the power sets,” he said. A power set can carry a large number of passengers in one journey. Therefore, most power sets are expected to be deployed as office trains for the benefit of upcountry commuters.

Meanwhile, nine power sets imported from China have been deployed on the coastal line. The Samudradevi train has been introduced with a new power set.

“After this addition, we have been able to save journey time by 40 minutes than obtained earlier. This move has also saved around 300 litres of diesel per day,” he said.