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Station masters doubtful of progress on vege transport

19 Jan 2022

  • Blame Railways Dept. for lack of support, non-utilisation of freight facilities  
BY Buddhika Samaraweera The Sri Lanka Railway Station Masters Union (SLRSMU) has stated that although the Agriculture Ministry had proposed a programme to transport vegetables by train, it is not yet operational and that it is questionable as to whether it received the necessary support from the Railways Department. Speaking to The Morning yesterday (19), the SLRSMU General Secretary, Kasun Chamara said that discussions were held between the Agriculture and Transport Ministries regarding the transportation of vegetables by train to Colombo Fort and the respective dedicated economic centres. However, he added that the programme is not operational at present. “The Railways Department continues to incur losses. In the past, the Department made profits not from passenger transport but from freight transport. Yet, at present, the Railways Department management does not pay enough attention to freight transport. The best example of this is the recent proposal to transport vegetables by train. It was just proposed and not yet implemented,” Chamara claimed. He further said that it is doubtful as to whether the Department had given sufficient support to implement the said programme. He also noted: “The Department has the necessary facilities to carry out freight transport on a large scale, but those facilities are not being properly utilised. If this situation can be avoided and freight transport can be expanded in addition to passenger transport services, the Department will be able to generate significant revenue.” In November 2021, The Morning reported that under the plan to transport agricultural produce such as fruits and vegetables by train, specially designed compartments were being set up for the transportation of such. Railways Department General Manager Dhammika Jayasundara at that time said that the programme was initially planned to be implemented using specially designed compartments for the transportation of fruits and vegetables.  However, when queried as to whether a time frame could be set for the implementation of this programme, Jayasundara said: “Currently, the Agriculture Ministry, the Transport Ministry, and the Railways Department are discussing this and no final decision has been reached yet.”

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