Sri Lanka’s railway system, once hailed as a lifeline for the country’s transportation network, is now creaking under the weight of ageing infrastructure, financial constraints, and a troubling lack of administrative accountability.
Revelations from the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) have brought to light significant deficiencies in governance, even as Sri Lanka Railways (SLR) General Manager (GM) J.I.D. Jayasundara maintains that the department is doing its best with limited resources.
At a recent COPA sitting, the Department of Railways came under severe criticism for failing to submit audit reports on time, with officials accused of running the department with “severe inefficiency”. COPA Chairperson MP Aravinda Senarath noted that the department had failed to respond to 27 audit inquiries and had not convened audit management committees for over five years.
“The 2020 audit report was only submitted in 2023, while the reports for 2021 and 2022 came in the same year,” the Auditor General observed. “This is a glaring administrative failure.”
Sri Lanka Railways Chief Finance Officer P.D.R.M. Divamanie admitted to delays in responding to audits, attributing them to a complicated internal structure. “We accept that there has been some delay,” she said. “There are nine sub-departments and compiling responses collectively has caused a slight delay.”
Jayasundara, acknowledging the department’s shortcomings, promised COPA that all four audit committee meetings would be held within the year. “We are committed to correcting this,” he said.
Ageing trains, limited budgets
Despite administrative lapses, the operational reality of Sri Lanka Railways is equally dire. According to Jayasundara, a new train engine today costs over Rs. 1 billion, an unaffordable price tag for a cash-strapped Government. The depreciation of the Sri Lankan Rupee has further driven up the costs of importing train sets and spare parts.
“As a result, we are maintaining our service using older engines that have been refurbished and overhauled several times to keep them running,” he explained.
Sri Lanka Railways currently relies on approximately 250 engines, including around 100 mainline locomotives and about 130 Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs). These are maintained primarily at its Ratmalana Workshop, where a workforce of over 2,000, along with 10-20 engineers, undertakes heavy repairs and overhauls.
“There’s a dedicated team under the Chief Engineer (Mechanical) and another in Dematagoda. The Chief Motive Power Engineer commands another force to perform general maintenance,” Jayasundara said. “They manage both the maintenance and the rolling out of engines into active service.”
Yet, he admitted that the throughput from these workshops was insufficient to sustain the required level of service quality.
University of Colombo (UOC) Department of Economics Prof. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan, who is a senior transport economist, stressed that the reliability of older locomotives was not necessarily a drawback.
“Many of our older engines, if properly overhauled and maintained, are far more durable than some of the newer additions,” he said. “This isn’t an age issue; it’s a quality and maintenance issue. Unfortunately, many recent procurements have not lived up to the expected operational standards, leading to more breakdowns and higher maintenance burdens despite their modernity.”
Prof. Gunaruwan further pointed out that the crisis was not solely financial. “Even if you inject money, without strong procurement oversight and a clear evaluation of technical standards, you risk wasting it,” he warned. “Our procurement decisions must be guided by long-term lifecycle costs and durability, not short-term political gain or vendor persuasion.”
His comments resonate strongly against the backdrop of recent failed acquisitions, underscoring the need for transparency and accountability in equipment sourcing.
Addressing the importance of railway workshops like in Ratmalana, Prof. Gunaruwan noted their indispensable role in sustaining service continuity. “Our capacity to rebuild and refurbish rolling stock locally is a national asset,” he said. “But we must invest in modernising these workshops and expanding their throughput. It’s inefficient to stretch a handful of facilities and expect reliable national coverage.”
Stalled procurement and future plans
The last major engine procurement was in 2019, when Sri Lanka purchased 10 engines from India. Since then, there have been no further purchases, although there are plans to acquire five new DMUs this year using existing financing avenues. “We’re targeting five DMUs, but with the current financial climate, it’s very challenging,” SLR GM Jayasundara said.
Jayasundara also confirmed that the department was open to Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives, although he warned that such changes would come at a cost.
“Currently, the price of a train ticket is half that of bus fare,” he pointed out. “Bus operators don’t have to maintain their roads or stations. Railways provide all that, but we are still expected to charge concessionary rates. If a PPP were to be introduced, fares would likely triple or quadruple.”
Despite this, he noted that SLR could achieve break-even status if it was allowed to set more competitive prices, potentially improving service standards through the reinvestment of additional revenue.
Tourism and pricing
On safety concerns, particularly with increased tourist use, Jayasundara offered reassurance. “Our operations are in full compliance with established safety regulations,” he asserted. “We have maintained this standard for 150 years and intend to uphold it even as we adopt new technologies.”
Tourism has, in fact, become a rare bright spot. “We allocate our best train sets for tourism,” he said. “In March alone, we earned Rs. 170 million from tourism trains, while season ticket income was around Rs. 140 million. Of course, it involves a cost, but it also brings forth a profit. This demonstrates the potential for profitability if we are to pursue competitive pricing or cost-reflective pricing,” he added.
He said that this model demonstrated the potential for profitability if the department was allowed to set its own pricing strategy. However, Jayasundara noted that the Government had its own priorities in ensuring a good transport structure.
“On the one hand, the Government has to earn revenue, but on the other hand, it must also provide a service to the people. The Railways Department is essentially a service to the people and the Government bears the cost. A season ticket holder pays only 12% of what a bus passenger pays. These subsidies should be recognised as a public service.
“Under such circumstances, it is unfair to measure the performance of Sri Lanka Railways merely on financial performance; it should consider the concessions and benefits conferred to users of the railway service as well as the maintenance and upkeep of infrastructure,” he said.
He stressed that evaluations should go beyond mere financial performance to account for social value. “We’re offering services at concessionary prices, especially to low-income passengers. That’s a contribution to society.”
Urban rail and infrastructure upgrades
With most rail improvements having been made outside Colombo, such as the Maho to Kankesanthurai line where trains can run at 100 km/h, the capital’s infrastructure remains neglected.
“There are issues when you come closer to Colombo,” Jayasundara acknowledged. “We are now prioritising upgrades in that area.”
Future plans include track improvements around Colombo, extensions towards Battaramulla, and potentially expanding the Kelani Valley line to Ratnapura. “We are trying to get it done with the available financial means,” he said.
To move forward, Prof. Gunaruwan suggested a pragmatic dual approach: strategic investment in durable rolling stock and rigorous attention to local maintenance capacity.
“We must not only acquire wisely but also maintain effectively,” he emphasised. “Railways are a long-term public investment. Without aligning fiscal planning, operational strategy, and good governance, Sri Lanka’s rail infrastructure will remain a victim of both political negligence and administrative inertia.”
The dual narrative emerging from Sri Lanka Railways is one of operational resilience amid financial and administrative disarray. On one hand, its leadership is struggling to keep the trains running with limited resources and outdated engines. On the other, failure to meet basic accountability standards has raised serious concerns among lawmakers.
With pressure mounting from COPA and the Auditor General, 2025 may well prove to be a watershed year for Sri Lanka’s iconic railway system. Whether it regains its former glory or continues to rattle forward on borrowed time depends on urgent reforms, both on the tracks and behind the desks.