The future of Sri Lanka’s upcountry railway line has come under scrutiny, with the Station Masters’ Union raising serious concerns over stalled bridge repairs and the absence of clear plans for restoration.
The Sri Lanka Railway Station Masters’ Union alleges that renovation work on the Peradeniya railway bridge on the upcountry line has now been halted, and that there are no plans to commence restoration work on the railway line between Rambukkana and Kadugannawa.
Issuing a media release, the union states that although the government initially proposed to intervene and construct a new dual bridge to repair the Peradeniya railway bridge of the upcountry line damaged by Cyclone Ditwah, later plans were drawn up instead to renovate the old bridge.
It further notes that the government announced that trains would run to Kandy in April 2026.
However, although the Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau (CECB) became involved in the renovation work through government intervention, the union states that the work carried out so far has been halted because the Railway Engineering Technical Committee expressed the view that the work did not meet the required inspection standards.
Accordingly, it is noted that the Railway Department has proposed calling for another report on the future work of this bridge.
The union also points out in its statement that certain actions of the present General Manager of Railways have caused these problems.
They allege that appointing an officer of the state administrative service as General Manager of Railways has given rise to this problematic situation.
The Sri Lanka Railway Station Masters’ Union charges that the present General Manager of Railways is acting to reduce train operations in order to minimize expenses, based on a very simple argument of showing that the department is making a profit.
The union points out that the inability of departmental officials to express their views, and the failure of the General Manager of Railways to listen to the opinions of other officials, has not only brought disrepute to the present government but also caused severe hardship to railway passengers.
Therefore, they point out that the problematic situation has mainly affected the restoration of the line damaged by subsidence.
Accordingly, the union further requests the relevant responsible authorities to appoint a committee consisting of retired railway engineers who have served as General Managers of Railways, in order to restore train operations swiftly to normalcy. (Newswire)