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| Sunday, 5 January 2003 |
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Most derailments involve French locomotives by Don Asoka Wijewardena Neglect of proper track maintenance at the right time and lack of well-established safety standards required for a faultless train operation were the primary causes of sporadic accidents and major derailments in the country. Most of the derailments occur in trains with the French locomotive M9 which is heavy, and worn-out tracks also lead to such mishaps due to the heavy impact of the engine. It is premature to arrive at a final conclusion over the continuous derailments mainly resulting from French locomotives until visible defects are ascertained by the railway engineers. A properly planned track maintenance system must be implemented to avert rail accidents and derailments," said a senior Engineer of the Ceylon Government Railway. Ten locomotives with a 99-tonne weight capacity imported from France in the year 2000 by the Ceylon Government Railway (CGR) are believed to be defective in many aspects, which had led to derailments since the beginning of 2000. In an interview with the Sunday Observer, the General Manager of Railways, Priyal de Silva, said that the CGR imported 10 French locomotives worth Rs 1700 million to streamline the railway service and it was subsequently ascertained that the high-tech and high-power locomotives had mechanical problems despite conforming to the required specifications. He said that it was he who detected some of the defects on the wheels of the bogies and called for French engineers to investigate the cause of derailments. General Manager Priyal de Silva noted that the defect was detected at Balana for the first time but the main technical and mechanical faults were not ascertained so far. "As a result, train services had to be restricted, with 7 of the 10 French locomotives in operation, only up to Nawalapitiya because engineers had realised the gravity of the problem in operating them in up-country," he said. When asked about the possible discontinuation of the French locomotives, the General Manager said that until the main technical and mechanical problems were ascertained,the operation would continue and added that both French and local engineers would be able to rectify the faults shortly. Chief Mechanical Engineer (CGR), P.P. Wijesekare, said that the French locomotives imported were specified as three-wheel high-power and high-tech with high speed operation. He pointed out that the locomotives had been evaluated by the Technical Committee for use in the country and said that only the French locomotives had begun to cause derailments. "As far as I know, the problem lies with the railways because all rail tracks should be replaced every 20 years. On a mechanical point of view, worn-out rail tracks cannot withstand an engine with a weight of 99 tonnes, which is prone to accidents, especially derailments," said Wijesekare. The Chief Mechanical Engineer also pointed out that adverse weather conditions, local electronic systems and computer-controlled operation in French locomotives could cause malfunctioning of the entire mechanical system as they had been manufactured according to temperate climatic conditions of that country. He added that some French and local engineers were trying their best to ascertain the faults and rectify them for a smooth railway service. |
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