Chinese carriages for Lanka’s rails

Rajmi Manatunga

COLOMBO: Around 100 new railway carriages manufactured in China will arrive in Sri Lanka within the next three months to address the severe dearth of carriages in the local train service.

The carriages, purchased at a cost of Rs 22 million each, will be shipped from China on August 20 and the first fleet of 25 carriages will reach Sri Lanka by September 3, a Transport Ministry spokesman said. He said the remaining 75 carriages will arrive in the country during the following three months in 25 carriage fleets.

“At least 50 railway carriages should be added to the service annually if we are to provide a satisfactory train service to the public. However, not one carriage has been added to the service since 1992. That is why Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma submitted a Cabinet proposal to purchase new carriages as one of his first tasks after assuming duty,” he said.

According to the spokesman, the carriages are being constructed at a leading Chinese company according to Sri Lankan engineers’ instructions to ensure that they are suited to local conditions.

“For the first time in history, we have also obtained a warranty from the manufacturers that they will compensate the Railways Department US $ 50 for each day, in case a carriage is taken out of operation within the warranty period”.

He said they were hopeful that the Department could provide an improved service to commuters once the new carriages are received.