Sri Lanka to modernize age old railway sector

Colombo, Nov 28 (newsin.asia) – Sri Lanka will modernize its age old railway sector by purchasing over a 100 new railway carriages and engines and modernizing railway stations in many areas across the island, Transport Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva, quoted by state media, said Tuesday.

De Silva said this will also help the government to strengthen the country’s public transportation sector as a majority of Sri Lankans depended on public transport on a daily basis.

The Minister said these plans were part of the Colombo suburban railway project which is to be funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Under this plan, the Transport and Civil Aviation Ministry together with Sri Lanka Railways will construct new parallel railway lines and modernize railway stations.

New railway lines will also be put in place to connect the capital to the Bandaranaike International Airport.
Thousands of tourists who visit Sri Lanka per year depend on Sri Lanka’s railway sector to explore many areas of the island.

Minister De Silva recently announced that under a new scheme, the Railway Department will renovate discarded railway carriages and lease out unused land to create accommodation facilities for tourists in railway stations.

The proposed project will be implemented in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority with the due approval of the cabinet.