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‘Stop Lokuge's sand train’: Railway trade unions request President  

03 Jan 2021

Railway trade unions have sought the intervention of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to cancel the decision taken by Transport Minister Gamini Lokuge to launch a special train to transport sand from Eravur to Maradana, causing millions of rupees in losses to the Department of Railways.  In a letter written to the President, the Railway Trade Unions Alliance (RTUA) has highlighted that Minister Lokuge has changed the Railway Ordinance on behalf of a friend who was transporting sand from Batticaloa to Colombo by a special freight train, resulting in huge losses to the Department.  RTUA Co-convener S.P. Vithanage stated that, as a result of the Minister’s decision, the Railways Department is incurring a loss of Rs. 169,830 per train.  “The train runs every three days, which means 10 trips a month. Therefore, as calculated by the union, the Minister’s decision has caused the Department a loss of Rs. 1,698,300 per month,” he told The Sunday Morning.  The union further alleged that the amendments had been made by reducing the charge per kilometre from Rs. 925 to Rs. 462.50.  Elaborating further, the union highlighted that a private company used 20 containers to haul sand from Eravur to Maradana. Ten BCF-type wagons and two M-11/M-4 engines were used. “This special freight train will run a total of 680 km including 340 km from Maradana to Eravur, and 340 km from there to Maradana. The Minister had ordered to reduce the charges by 50% when the train is going up to Earvur and on the way back, to charge the full amount,” Vithanage noted. The union also stressed that the Department is currently incurring a loss of around Rs. 700 million per year and during the Covid-19 situation, it had incurred further losses amounting to millions of rupees, as it went on a complete shutdown.  When contacted by The Sunday Morning, Transport Minister Lokuge denied the allegations levelled by the unions and said the transportation of goods was commenced as the Railways Department is incurring a huge loss from passenger transport.  “As an initial step, the Department launched a train service from Maradana to Eravur and from next week, another train will be launched to Kantale,” he said, adding that in the meantime, discussions are being conducted with the Prima Group to transport their goods as well.  Clarifying about the reduction of the prices, the Minister said that the Department should first attract the businesses, and that was why it had reduced the prices for carrying empty carriages.


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