The Railways, a national asset, used by hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans on a daily basis links key cities and districts of the island like a network of public transport arteries. From a public mobility and economy perspective the Railway network and the department is critical infrastructure for Sri Lanka. The once celebrated colonial project, the Railways Department is today groaning under the weight of ageing infrastructure, inefficiency, financial constraints, and long-standing lack of administrative accountability.

While issues about the Railways Department and its service has been a constant woe echoed by the public over decades, the serious issues which trouble the public transport behemoth has been coming to light in recent times. Despite strong criticism by the public, State and watchdogs, the Sri Lanka Railways (SLR) has maintained that the department is doing its best with limited resources. At a recent COPA session, 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.” In response, Sri Lanka Railways Chief Finance Officer 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.”

Alongside administrative lapses, the operational reality of Sri Lanka Railways is equally dire. Ask any commuter who uses the Railway, the list is long. According to the SLR, 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” the SLR GM stated. The SLR 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. The SLR has admitted that the throughput from these workshops was insufficient to sustain the required level of service quality. However, some observers have also pointed out that the reliability of older locomotives was not necessarily a drawback, adding that if properly maintained they are more durable than some new locomotives. Critics have pointed out that injection of funds without strong procurement oversight and a clear evaluation of technical standards, is a risk and opens the door to corruption and waste. They also point out that procurement decisions must be guided by long-term lifecycle costs and durability, not short-term political gain or vendor persuasion.

This is a key concern given that the SLR’s many recent attempts to purchase locomotives have been scuttled or failed to materialise, leaving the fleet inadequate to provide the services needed.  Critics have also pointed out that the Government must give significant attention to modernising the SLR’s workshops and expanding their throughput. “It’s inefficient to stretch a handful of facilities and expect reliable national coverage,”one opined.

Another problem area has been the effective maintenance, upkeep and improvement of the rail lines network. 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, some experts have pointed out, adding that such areas need to be addressed urgently. Plans are also being drafted to make track improvements around Colombo, extensions towards Battaramulla, and potentially expanding the Kelani Valley line to Ratnapura.

The SLR and the Government will need to improve transparency and accountability of the department for the railways to improve, that will be the first track change which needs to be signaled, for the public transport network to build steam and chug along on time and on budget.