Boost for Eastern transport:

Two rail bus services

Irangika Range

The Government will launch two new rail-bus services between Gal Oya and Trincomalee and Gal Oya and Batticaloa in the Eastern Province under the Negenahira Navodaya project.

The project aims to provide quick and affordable transport facilities to commuters in the East.

A Sri Lanka Railway's Spokesman told the Daily News that the rail-bus service proposed to operate between Gal Oya and Trincomalee will commence from the Gal Oya station once the Meenagaya train (Colombo-Batticaloa) arrived. The Trincomalee bound civilians have to wait nearly four hours at the Gal Oya station to go to Trincomalee. With the operation of this new rail-bus service from Gal-Oya to Trincomalee, they would reach the destination within a short period.

Similarly, the rail-bus was from Gal Oya to Batticaloa will commence from the Gal Oya station once the Trincomalee night mail train (Colombo-Trincomalee) arrived. The rail-bus to Batticaloa will benefit Batticaloa bound civilians.

He said three rail-bus services are operating from Batticaloa to Valachchenai, from Kurunegala-Anuradhapura, and from Polgahawela-Kurunegala.

The Railway Authority has received positive responses from the public on the operation of rail-bus services as it has reduced travel time considerably he said.

The Indian Government has provided 10 buses at a cost of SLR 44 million to Sri Lanka Railways and has made available an additional Rs. 22 million to pay for the cost of conversion of these buses into rail-bus units.

The buses will be converted to rail-buses in the Railway workshop at Ratmalana under the supervision of the Railways General Manager P.P. Wijesekara.

Eeach rail-bus will have two buses. A rail-bus comprising eighty seats costing about Rs.6 million is easier to maintain, the Railway spokesman added.