Though the Government spent Rs. 3600 million on laying down modernized railway tracks the new express train between Matara and Galle is only a mere six minutes faster than its predecessors, DNA Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath told media today.
He added that the government claimed that the new train was much faster than the ‘Galu Kumari’ and ‘Ruhunu Kumari’ trains. However Vijitha claimed that the new train which took 38 minutes to travel 43km was only reaching a speed of approximately 80km per hour not a 100 km/h as the government stated.
The ‘Ruhunu kumari’ train which has 15 compartments and stops at two railway station which are Ahangama and Weligama takes only 50 minutes to go from Galle to Matara, Vijitha said. It is common knowledge that a train station stop generally takes 6-7 minutes, hence it actually takes only 44 minutes for the ‘Ruhunu Kumari’ to reach Matara from Galle, he added. Hence Vijitha claimed that the new train is only a mere six minutes faster than the predecessor.
