Editorial on 2/12/2015

 

 

Ailing railway

December 1, 2015, 7:45 pm 

All unauthorised structures on either side of railroads that run through some parts of the Colombo city and its suburbs will be removed, Transport Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva has said. There are shanties with their roofs almost touching the moving trains. Drastic measures are, therefore, called for to rid the railway land of encroachers.

Minster de Silva was seen inspecting the Kelani Valley railway line a few days ago. It is one of the worst sections of the country’s railway network. The track conditions are appalling and inordinate delays are the order of the day. If properly developed, this railroad has the potential to bring much relief to the commuting public and ease congestion on several arterial roads in Colombo.

Old-timers may recall a funny Sinhala poem about the trains that used to move at a snail’s pace on the narrow-gauge Kelani Valley line in times of yore, stopping as they did at every station and every signal post. The last two lines of the poem read: ‘tharuna joduwak neggama kolombin/daruwek upadi opanayakin (a newly married couple beginning journey from Colombo has their first baby by the time the train reaches Opanayake). Now the situation has somewhat improved, but much more remains to be done.

The need for developing railway as a solution to the ever worsening traffic congestion in the city cannot be overemphasised. The eviction of squatters on railway land alone won’t help develop the service. There needs to be a radical shake-up in the railway administration besides a massive cash injection for developing tracks and purchasing rolling stock. The railway department is one of the worst government institutions characterised by inefficiency and corruption. Minister de Silva has undertaken a Herculean task.

An expert committee has disclosed that the newly built northern railway is full of defects. Sleepers, culverts etc do not conform to the specified standards, as we reported the other day. The Matara-Beliatte section of the coastal line, too, has not been properly built, experts have said. Stern action is called for against those responsible for the defective tracks. Somebody has obviously lined his pockets and the contractors must be held answerable for these serious lapses which would have endangered the lives of commuters if they had gone undetected.

It is good to see the Transport Minister take train rides once in a way. All his predecessors did so with media personnel in tow. If he wants to see how bad the train service is he should travel incognito. Else, the railway authorities do everything in their power to ensure that the trains carrying him and his officials run smoothly. The only way to have the public transport system developed is to make politicians, especially ministers, and top bureaucrats travel in packed buses and trains so that they will realise the suffering commuters undergo daily. Time was when people’s representatives travelled by train.

A high-ranking railway official has told this newspaper that ‘footboard travel’ will be banned on all long-distance trains, but the ban will not apply to crowded office trains as the department cannot augment its ailing fleet for want of resources. One is intrigued. Do the railway officials think that footboard travel is a solution to the shortage of rolling stock?

Minister de Silva’s keen interest in developing the ailing train service is to be appreciated. It is hoped that he will emulate the late Transport Minister Anil Moonesinghe, who did the country proud, and recruit officials of the calibre of the legendary engineer cum railway general manager, B. D. Ramapala, who ensured that the then CGR provided an efficient service to the public. Having the right people in key notches is half the battle in developing any institution.