The government has announced plans to increase the number of locomotive engines in operation daily to minimize train delays and cancellations.

Following a visit to Ella, Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Dr. Prasanna Gunasena stated that this initiative aims to enhance the quality of railway services.

“Before electric trains are introduced, Sri Lanka’s train cancellations must stop. There are about 217 to 220 trains running daily. In the past, about 17 to 20 of them were cancelled. We need to stop the cancellations as much as possible. We need to do everything we can to keep the train engines running,” he said.

Dr. Gunasena further stated that Sri Lanka requires about 60 to 70 train engines for daily operations, but only 45 to 50 engines are currently available. He further assured that efforts are being made to increase this number, and progress is being made successfully.

“By the end of February, the number of engines used for daily operations should be more than 60. Also, the number of cancellations per day should be reduced. About 52% of the trains running in Sri Lanka operate daily. 17% are delayed by more than 10 minutes, and 10% are delayed by more than half an hour. If we want to improve the quality of this service, we need to make sure that the trains run on time. We have paid attention to that as well,” he added.