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Train fares to rise amidst increased demand?

16 Jun 2022

  • Railways Dept. hopeful of Govt. policy decision, citing diesel price hikes
BY Buddhika Samaraweera Against the backdrop of a claim by Railways Department Station Masters that the number of train passengers has increased by nearly 50% amidst the nationwide fuel shortage, the Department of Railways is hopeful that the Government will approve an increase in train fares based on a policy decision.  Speaking to the media yesterday (15), Railways Department General Manager Dhammika Jayasundara said that the Government would take a policy decision to allow an increase in train fares, taking into account the high cost of operating trains. “Currently, the train fare is between 20-24% of the bus fare for a certain distance. In this situation, the expenditure of the department has gone up due to the huge increase in diesel prices, but the revenue received by the department is very low. Therefore, we hope that the Government will allow a hike in train fares,” he said. Speaking to The Morning earlier this week, Sri Lanka Railway Station Masters’ Union (SLRSMU) General Secretary Kasun Chamara said: “Currently, the number of train passengers has increased by about 50% due to rising fuel prices, fuel shortages, and rising bus fares.” Speaking in Parliament last week, Minister of Transport and Highways Dr. Bandula Gunawardana said that a common policy should be formulated to revise the train fares to be half as much as the bus fares charged for a certain distance, in the face of rising fuel prices and the cost of running trains. The Railways Department pointed out in January 2022, that in view of the current cost of operating trains, train fares should be increased to at least the same as bus fares, and that in doing so, it could prevent losses. Jayasundara at the time said that the Railways Department has to import fuel, spare parts, and much more, in order to continue train operations, adding that such imports cost a lot of money. Claiming that train fares in many other parts of the world are higher than bus fares, he said that Sri Lanka is artificially keeping train fares low in order to provide a service to the passengers. However, the Sri Lanka Railway Station Masters’ Union has recently stated that the moves of the Government and the department to increase train fares cannot be approved, as there are a number of other ways to increase the Railways Department’s revenue, such as the proper leasing of lands belonging to the Department and the expansion of freight transport by train.


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