Northern line re-construction work progresses :

Second stage of Southern track on schedule:

 Improvements to rail tracks islandwide

By Omar RAJARATHNAM

Rail transport is often misconstrued as an inconvenient mode of transport by many commuters. A regular commuter says "I have been on the train from Badulla for the past 12 hours, travelling to Badulla at least once a week for business purposes. Every time I travel, something goes wrong and a journey of 10 hours gets delayed by another two hours.

"I travel to the North and South quite often, and this is the most irritating journey I embark on", he said.

"I have been using the train between Colombo to Meegoda since schooldays and six years in my work life, I now see many new faces on a daily basis. I think this is because many opt to travel by train to avoid congestion on roads. The time taken by passengers to board the train delays the journey. I enjoyed taking the train those days, but I detest it now because the quality of service has deteriorated. An on-line time table service is available to plan out the train journey but then the constant delay defeats the objective of having an on-line schedule said a commuter.

The Government expects a considerable shift from road and freight transport to rail transport within the next decade. This was made known in-line with the rapid development taking place in the country and to acknowledge the importance of rail transport as an indicator of economic development. However, many question whether any work had commenced for a change to take place. We contacted the Ministry of Transport and the relevant officials for their views.

"We have eleven foreign funded projects which are taking place simultaneously, an official told the Sunday Observer. Some of the main projects focus on the re-construction of a 90.5km rail track from Omanthai to Palai, a 63km line from Madhu to Talaimannar and a 43km line from Medawachichiya to Madhu, so there is a progress" he said.

Q: Apart from the re-construction of tracks, what has been done to uplift the standards of rail services in the country and offer a punctual service, especially in service such as Colombo-Badulla which many commuters have endless complaints about?

A: The Colombo-Badulla route has its share of problems quite often. The timing go haywire because there is only one track that operates. If there is any damage to the track or signal failures, the delays occur.

The engines we currently use have been operating beyond the time span, so it affects the timing. We have ordered four Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) from China to be available by the end of 2012 and we are going to allocate it only to be used for the Colombo-Badulla route and other up-country rail services.

Q: On the same service, one witnesses many passengers standing even on second class compartments, which is Rs. 165 more than the price one pays for a third class ticket. Isn't this an indicator that the rail frequency is not meeting customer demand?

A: This situation is found only until about Kandy, then the crowds reduce. One should not conclude that the demand is not met based on this situation as it is found only during a part of the journey.

Q: Our signalling system is quite conventional as well, have you considered improving this methodology to offer faster services to commuters?

A: Yes, the conventional mechanical system is about 150 years old and it caused quite a lot of problems. But the good news is that, one of our foreign funded rail development projects includes the introduction of Signalling and Telecommunication systems on a 208km line from Anuradhapura to Medawachchiya and a 105km line from Medawachichiya to Talaimannar pier. This will help us improve on punctuality and better frequencies as you predict. The systems will gradually be implemented to other areas of the rail network.

Q: The Southern coastal rail line is popular among rail commuters but has been neglected for awhile too, are they included in the rail development plan?

A: We are planing to upgrade the Colombo-Matara rail line with 20 new DMUs from India. There are also plans to construct three sheds in Galle, Aluthgama and Dematagoda so trains can be serviced too. Plans are under way to re-construct the Wellawatta, Dehiwala and Angulana stations. A new rail way line from Matara to Beliatta for 27km funded by the Chinese government is under construction too.

The southern line has been included in the development plan.

Q: The Government announced the rail development plan with the objective of increasing regional connectivity and to project the country as a business hub.What progress have the authorities made in this region so far?

A: 2010-2012 was named by President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the years for regional connectivity. So we have a target to complete these initiatives by the end of 2012.

The Talaimannar pier and the railway lines which we re-constructed will be used to transport the ferry passengers from Rameshwaram to Talaimannar.

This is slated to be a boost for tourism as well, so we are already making progress in this area.

Further, the another new line is constructed from the Dambulla Economic Trade Zone via Kurunegala to Habarana and the use of rail lines from Colombo, Trincomalee and Hambantota will mean that we are fully functional for contingent transportation and this is a pre-requisite of being a business hub.

When a country has a multi-model transport network, it speaks for its ability to cope with large production plants.

One must understand that the plan covers almost every rail line in the country that requires development.

The fact that we have worked so quickly on re-constructing the Northern lines means that we are moving ahead on a positive note. Seventy percent of the rail transport is utilised by passengers and the remaining 30 accounts for transportation of goods.

When the re-construction of the lines began, not many thought we will complete the project soon but we progressed at such a rapid pace that on May 27 the Thandikkulam and Omanthai rail track will open for transport.

The Northern line stretches from Polgahawela to Kankesanthurai and the construction is taking place well.

The re-construction is a big challenge, safety is a mandatory requirement and we must ensure that these areas are not land-mine infested before we extend the lines. Unforseen and unavoidable factors will delay the progress but we should have a clear vision to complete these developments. There are also plans to construct shopping complexes and waiting areas for commuters at train stations. A complex which is scheduled to be built at the Jaffna station is under discussion.

Likewise, we want to acknowledge that we are aware of what the commuters face on a daily basis and many foreign countries have volunteered to fund our projects.