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| Sunday, 30 November 2003 |
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Railway gears to move full speed ahead by Hiran H. Senewiratne The Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian government's railway subsidiary consultancy firm RITES to obtain its services to improve the efficiency of the Ceylon Government Railway (CGR). The Sri Lankan railway's work assignments are presently carried out by the recently established Railway Authority (RA), which has drafted short and long-term restructuring plans to increase the efficiency level. The Indian company, RITES is said to be one of the top railway consultancy firms, providing services to some of the largest railway ventures in the world including the Indian Railway Department. "We want to revamp the railway to the maximum level," said Minister of Transport, Highways and Aviation Tilak Marapana. He said establishing the RA will permit the entity to take independent and flexible decisions for the railway sector. Minister Marapana said that the Railway Authority will be developed in four phases with financial aid from the Indian Line of Credit. The Indian company will provide consultancy services on the restructuring plans, he added. Under the first phase of the restructuring plan, selected railway tracks i.e. Colombo-Kandy, Galle and Negombo will be upgraded. Marapana also said the railway department has more than 17,000 employees and they intend to offer a Voluntary Retirement Scheme to downsize the staff. He said the required number of employees is half the present number. Restructuring the Railway Department is said to need enormous financial resources not only for future growth, but also to clear the massive backlog of infrastructure maintenance, he added. The Minister said the Government provides nearly Rs 5-6 billion annually to maintain the service. The money collected as railway fare is inadequate to meet even the railway fuel bill. Marapana said that the Authority will consider increasing the fares after the completion of the restructuring process. The railway is presently one of the cheapest modes of public transport systems in the country and it has to be treated in a two-pronged manner specially passenger services and freight services. Introducing rail coaches is among the future plans of the authority. "To expedite the restructuring process, we hope to get the participation of the private sector while the Authority will act as the facilitator," the Minister added. Railway Authority Chairman P.H. Manatunga said that before the Authority was established, the Department was recording a loss of Rs 2-3 billion annually. He said that plans are underway to find ways and means to become a profitable and self-funded entity. He said the Authority will first address the basic issues to put the service in proper shape. According to statistics, an investment of around Rs 13 billion is needed to upgrade the railway service. This investment includes a Rs 5 billion investment in rolling stocks (coaches). The Railway is in urgent need of about 200 coaches with the cost of one coach being around Rs 25 million. Another Rs 3 billion is needed for track maintenance and a further Rs 5 billion for signalling and communication equipment. Manatunga also said the Authority intends to upgrade basic infrastructural needs as a short-term plan to make the railway more efficient. He said upgrading the main railway lines will benefit more than 300,000 daily travellers to Colombo. With the establishment of the RA, an automated ticketing system is expected to be set up at the main railway stations in the near future to reduce congestion, Manatunga added. To maintain transparency, the Authority will publish reports in the media every two months for the information of the public on how improvements are being effected by the Authority and also the extent to which irregularities have been rectified. Manatunga said the exorbitant rise in operation costs, declining revenues, reduction of subsidies from State coffers and credit facilities by the Petroleum Corporation to issue fuel and lubricants and non-replacement of ageing assets i.e. tracks and bridges in recent years have left the railway management with a Hobson's Choice and a curtailment of unremunerative services that cannot be avoided. Chairman Manatunga also said that the Authority has called for international tenders to sell scrap iron, which have been abandoned for a long time at its premises, to earn some revenue for the body. |
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