Can our railway build track to Kataragama or Jaffna?

SADA Subasinghe Techno-Managerial Consultant

The above challenging question appeared on January 14 issue by Tissa Fernando. The answer to this question is for the many reasons elaborated below, “Yes, it can and much more” - of course not just in any way: there is a dynamic way to do it. The writer seemed to doubt the capability of the railway workers to relay the railway line to Jaffna, taking the new Kataragama railway line’s progress as an example. His and most others’ concern over these matters should be appreciated, but apparently he has limited knowledge of the Kataragama case.

The workers, nay the engineers, who direct the workforce, can work only when the higher authorities give the OK. The authorities have their limitations like funds, getting land clearance, etc which often depends on political implications and the political will.

Rampala the example

Could Eng B D Rampala do it? Rampala was no normal worker. He was a wizard of an engineering professional that cannot be taken as an example in this issue. As a podian engineer, I had the opportunity to work with him. We have had only a few engineers like him in the recent local engineering history, who pioneered several engineering projects to the surprise and respect of all. He had had his stature - both physical and mental, competence, self-confidence, guts, the push, the high risk taking boldness and above all the love for the country.

Rampala did not have to lay long tracks, but he built locomotives, also did a complete colour lights signalling system for the CGR, a Herculean task at the time, without foreign engineers. He would not take no for an answer for anybody. After him came Kulasingha, another wizard, but his approach was more warm. He was a little more kind to the lay politician, despite the shaky political will that hindered the local engineers’ courageous exploits and achievements.

More of potential Wimalasurendras, Rampalas, Kulasinghas etc are among us, but unfortunately they lack some little element, particularly to tackle the political inertia. We know the various political implications in our every day-to-day administrative and common life.

The potential Rampalas and Kulasinghas often take a long time to emerge from the public sector, having to penetrate through tough FRR and ARR, Circulars and often political bottle necks.

Transport problems

Such a situation seems to be perpetuating in the SLR right now seriously holding up high talents, from contributing to solving the country’s transport problems, despite a very encouraging assurance by the President at Temple Trees on December 15 regarding taking risks working under the pressure of possibly FR and AR and controlling circulars.

Therefore the Kataragama railway line, if progressing slowly, the solution is not in the workforce. With the President’s keenness in developing the underdeveloped South, this new railway extension should have been the first stretch of the SLR that was to be not only constructed, but also electrified. It had all the conditions conducive to be the modern electrified railway service in Sri Lanka.

As a new railway line every needed electrification facility could have been provided conveniently; and being the model for the rest of the railway electrification. Of course, even now, there is enough room to make it the first electrified railway stretch to see the light of day in the country.

In the Mahinda Chintana environment the potential Rampalas are there in the Railway and elsewhere to achieve it without pawning ourselves to foreigners. Mainly it is the political will and back up and the signal to go ahead that is basically needed.

There are a few more live wires among us, potentially of his calibre. While they are ordinarily serving the country very much, their emerging as Rampalas or Kulasinghas is held back due to inadequacy or lack of political will to promote or exploit them to the maximum benefit. So it is neither the incapability of the Sri Lankan worker, nor the construction machinery that is missing at Kataragama or KKS or Mannar. When the tsunami destroyed the Southern railway line, how was it redone in 58 days? Then the political will was at its crest and the capable railway engineers and its workers did the miracle.

There were no foreign interests. If foreign elements intervened, perhaps, they would have taken the 58 days to prepare a Turnkey contract to their benefit?

There was a similar notable happening during the Rampala era, but not connected with him. In the year of the first Buddha Jayanthi (1956) the country was acutely short of electric power. The Head of State was with his whip over the head of the CEB (then DGEU) to get him every KW of power squeezed out from the DGEU’s generating plant, particularly the aging steam plant and the diesel’s performance quite low. It was a real challenge.

All the relevant resources of the DGEU were put at the disposal of a few dedicated engineers and their retinue in the two main thermal power stations, and they systematically worked day and night for two to three weeks to upgrade the dying plant and just in time they succeeded tiding over the short but unprecedented peak by not only forcing out the rated capacity but in most cases a 10 to 15 percent overload to meet the peak. The capability of our engineers is always there, it is the politico-bureaucratic forces that are often intransigent.

Railway electrification

It is the political will and the executive organization behind the workforce that made the trains to run South in 58 days after the tsunami. So whether the workers have failed at Kataragama, or will fail at KKS, does not arise. They are there to rally round, if the coast is clear.

Our local labour may be lacking or confused in some respects sometimes, but not when they have to rise to the occasion.

That it is the authorities, politico bureaucratic elements, that are lacking is well illustrated by a case in the SLR itself. Electrifying the railways with a multitude of benefits was struggling to be conceived even from the wizard Rampala’s time.

This was dragging on for decades for unknown reasons - one may call it lack of political will, but it was obscure and the Government was buying diesel locomotives and diesel power sets and feeding them with costly diesel fuel from foreign petroleum companies. In 1997-8 the Institution of Engineers, well aware of the capabilities and prowess of the local workforce - engineers and the rankers and the supporting skilled workers, courageously submitted a project proposal - a well studied and worked out plan (program) to electrify the Suburban Railway in a few manageable stages.

The Railways’ relevant workers and staff were enthusiastically waiting to carry out the project and prove their capabilities and save the Railways billions in running expenses, mostly in foreign exchange for diesel fuel, by implementing that scheme with economical funding and almost from the stage I getting a return, but worse than in the case of Norochcholai project etc, due to some political ill-will or muddling it was annihilated even after getting the Cabinet’s OK twice. If the Mahinda Chinthana spirit was there a decade ago, through that scheme alone, what a huge saving of financial and other benefits the country would have gained by now - it may be billions or trillions if the electrification was done at that time.

What a loss

A part of the devastating flood water that is spilling over the power reservoir dams currently and to a lesser amount in the past years (and years to come) would have been used by the railways almost free saving billions in foreign exchange if that project was implemented as planned, the importing of a large number of Diesel Power sets (and Diesel locomotives) were to be curtailed/dropped saving billions of Dollars in that too). Now another railway electrification project proposal by the IESL is on the table, which still can be handled by the local engineers and engineering workforce but it too appears to be in the danger of being a victim of foreign interests.

It is not the Kataragama or Jaffna lines alone. Those are simple tasks. Today our engineers are capable of working out strategies to overcome any technology deficiencies in the country’s railway electrification or most other projects and no doubt the Central Bank with its unprecedented forex reserves has now the strength to easily fund most of them, certainly the paying railway electrification with local and foreign loans for this self compensating investment and leaving the tasks to the able local engineers and skilled talents without looking over our shoulders for total foreign assistance.